Making A Choice
by littleshyangel
Summary: AU. A cloaked man appears in Camelot and rescues those who have been sentenced to death by the King, his hatred for the Pendragon family obvious. However what happens when it's Uther's Son, Arthur, that's in need of help? Will he be saved?
1. Killing A Boy

**Killing A Boy**

* * *

The courtyard remained silent as the prisoner was dragged up to the execution block. Normally people swarmed the surrounding area to see who it was being executed, this one was no different, apart from the fact that nobody was smiling at the sight of a sorcerer being killed. For the sorcerer was not a man, nor a woman, but a young boy that looked so innocent that it was impossible to think he could pose any threat. Yet Uther had decreed that it would send a message that there was no tolerance for magic.

Arthur felt his chest tightened as the boy was shoved onto his knees, his head barely reaching the blood covered block where so many lives had been taken and a bag was shoved over his face so no one could look at him. How would it feel to kneel there, not knowing when you would have your last breath? Even he had begged his Father to think of an alternative punishment, even if it was just to banish the boy, anything was better than this. He hadn't had a chance to live his life yet.

Uther raised his hand into the air and every person tensed on the ground below, waiting for his hand to drop along with the axe. Arthur went forward on the balcony and stared at the hunched over body. It was times like these he wanted to be King so he could have the power to stop this. He didn't need to know when Uther dropped his hand as most of the people looked back at the boy and Arthur closed his eyes instantly, not wanting to see the cruelty.

However no sound came and a huge gasp filled the court.

Opening his eyes, Arthur looked down to see a tall man now stood beside the executioner, the axe firmly in his hold from stopping the axe mid-swing. He wore a black cloak and both hands had the same coloured gloves covering them, even the clothes he wore beneath were black. If it wasn't such a serious situation, Arthur would tease them that black was clearly their favourite colour, however now was not the time. Instead he kept a firm expression on his face and watched as the axe was taken out of the executioners grasp, who quickly ran from the scene in fear of being hurt.

"You dare harm a boy that is at such a young age?" The bitter voice came from the cloaked figure and Arthur saw his Father gripping the sword at his waist. "I had heard you were cruel Uther Pendragon, that you sentenced those who were often innocent, however I had thought even you had a soul." He threw the axe on the ground and crouched down, removing the hood off the boy.

"He is a sorcerer and I do not tolerate magic in my Kingdom. Move away from the boy. I am the King and such disrespect won't go unhindered." Uther yelled down at him and a small laugh came from the stranger, for someone surrounded with so many knights, he wasn't exactly giving off the impression of being worried. "Are you laughing at me?"

"You may be the King but I don't take orders from anyone. The boy is coming with me." Somehow the boy's bindings fell from his hands and he instantly clung to the cloak around the man, his eyes wide with fear.

"Seize them!"

Arthur watched as over a dozen knights surrounded them, their swords drawn and shields raised. Even the toughest of men couldn't escape what was about to happen. The figure would be struck down with one blow and the boy would be executed. At least that's what he thought would happen, except instead of approaching them, the knights dropped their swords and fell to the ground as if they'd instantly fallen asleep. Looking back at the man, he didn't have to see his face to know he was smiling, apparently the boy wasn't the only sorcerer in the courtyard.

The man twirled the end of his cloak around the young boy and when he dropped the material, the boy was gone. Vanished into thin air some might say. "Where is he?" Arthur muttered quietly to himself and suddenly the man's attention was no longer on Uther. It was on him. Holding himself still, he held the gaze, knowing that if he backed down it would be seen as weakness. "What you looking at sorcerer?" He demanded to know and his eyes widened as the man suddenly lifted from the ground.

His body flew straight towards the balcony and there was no time to protect himself as he came face to face with the sorcerer. The hood might have hidden his face down below, but at this distance Arthur could see every detail, even a scar that marked his skin. Whoever it was had once been a handsome guy, it had now been ruined by a scar that ran across his eye and down over his cheek. Whenever it had been done, it would have been extremely painful, even for someone like Arthur.

"Get away from him!" Came Uther's voice and was silenced when the sorcerer lifted his hand to the side, causing a barrier between them and the world. It was just Arthur and the sorcerer. No one else. What scared Arthur the most was that he wasn't even going for his sword, he just stood there, staring.

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked quietly.

"Wanted to take a look for myself what the future King is like. The stories about you give you no justice," he commented and lifted a hand, running his gloved fingers across Arthur's cheek. Arthur's heart stopped dead in his chest as the sorcerer studied his face closely, he could just about make out that his eyes were blue but that could be the light, this man could pass him on the street and only the scar would let Arthur know who it was.

Suddenly a huge gust of wind suddenly surrounded Arthur and he covered his eyes to stop things flying into them, only when he felt no wind did he look to see that the sorcerer was gone. Not a trace was left of his presence and the people down below just stared up in amazement from the new developments. A firm grasp came around his arm and he turned to see Uther staring at him in worry. Was he genuinely scared that the sorcerer had harmed him in some way?

"What did he say?" Uther demanded to know.

"He just wanted to see what I looked like, that's all …" he drifted off and looked back out across the courtyard. Uther had often told him that a man in a cloak was spotted in the dungeons and minutes later it was reported a prisoner had escaped. Now that he'd seen him for himself, Arthur could understand people's fascination in him, even if he was a sorcerer. There was just an air about him that told people he was a mystery waiting to be solved. "I think I'm going to go lie down for a bit," he lied and set off for the library.

* * *

Arthur kept quiet as he and the knights rode out through the forest in search of a beast that had been spotted near the area. He had other things on his mind. The past few days he'd spent in the library or talking to people in the lower town, finding out all there was to know about the cloaked man. Apparently he wasn't recorded anywhere in any books, for he'd only been turning up recently, and most of the stories he'd heard from people involved the man simply running past their homes as he left the Camelot. Which meant he did appear from time to time, not only when helping prisoners escape.

So the question was; what kept bringing him back to Camelot?

"Sire, everything okay? You're normally a lot chattier than you have been on this trip," Leon said as his horse caught up to Arthur's and he gave a smile in return.

"A lot on my mind. Being a Prince doesn't help," he stated and turned his attention back on the surrounding land. Maybe he'd get more information the next time the man appeared. There was another execution due in a few days time apparently, his Father was getting less tolerant and wasn't taking any chances. Arthur had thought to argue with him, tell him that he needed to think things through before sentencing people, except he could never find the courage. At the end of the day, Uther was his Father as well as his King and had been the one to punish Arthur as a boy if he challenged authority.

It's just that even though he'd grown up being told magic was evil, that no sorcerer was good, that couldn't be true for every sorcerer surely? It was like saying if you found one man was evil, then the entire human race _must _be evil, right?

"I hear something," one of the knights suddenly said and everyone stopped. Even Arthur's thoughts came to an abrupt halt in hopes of making them quieter. "Up ahead, there was movement," the same knight repeated. Arthur nodded and slipped off his horse, indicating the others were to follow suit. As they trudged through the mud, Arthur kept a firm grip on his sword and kept his eyes pealed for the beast. They were in the right area. Maybe it had been finally found.

Pointing to a couple of the knights, he was about to signal for them to sneak up on the beast from behind when a sword was suddenly swinging at his head, only from experience did he instinctively block the blow with his own sword. Staring at his attacker, he was faced with another man who was smiling happily, his companions surrounding the other knights. There was no time to ask questions as the fight started, every man deflecting blows meant to kill. Whoever these people were, they didn't want any prisoners. They were in this for the kill.

Arthur rolled away from the man attacking him as he fell to the ground and he stood to see two of his men getting swords stabbed through their chests. No man could survive that. Only having time to feel a second of grief for the loss of his men, Arthur spun round to swing his sword at the other man's head, except he was gone and now attacking Leon along with another man. Frowning at the turn of events, Arthur took a step forward to help his friends, having every intention of killing the men.

However, a hand reached around his head and pressed a cloth to his mouth. It didn't take long for the chloroform to take effect and Arthur's body fell backwards onto the ground, the last thing he saw was several men looking down at him whilst laughing. Let them laugh. The moment he was conscious again he'd show them why he was the Prince of Camelot. At least he hoped he would as he slipped into darkness.

**

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Yes, this was a short first chapter, but I wanted to just get it started rather than jump straight into the main plot. I also realise that this is my 3rd story being written at the moment, but I couldn't wait to write it and it won't effect updating the other two.**

**I'd like to dedicate this story to Acheron Blake who gave me the idea through a message. I've spent a while thinking up certain parts of the story and now I have them, I decided to write it.**

**Please, Please, Please, Please, Please Review. The more reviews I get, the quicker I tend to update a story =] **

**Small warning; this will become Arthur/Merlin slash based further on. Not for a while yet though. So if you're not into that kind of thing, you're either reading the wrong story or will have to skip those parts.**

**Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Meeting A Girl

**Meeting A Girl**

* * *

"Do you think he's okay?"

"Should we wake him?"

"Who is he?"

"Maybe we should call them back to check on him."

"Look, he's moving."

Arthur heard the voices first, the temperature of the room followed and he shivered unconsciously. Wherever he was it wasn't Camelot. As he opened his eyes, he found that it was almost as dark as when he had had his eyes closed, the only reason he knew he'd opened his eyes was that he could just make out the shapes of people sitting around him. They were gazing down at him in curiosity. All with eyes that appeared golden in the darkness. "Are you okay?" Came a soft young voice and he turned his head to see a little girl at his side, his hand clutched between her two small hands.

"I'm fine," he tried to say but all that came out was a whisper. Putting a hand to his throat, he tried again and the same result occurred. "Why can't I speak?" Arthur asked anyone who would answer.

"You haven't had anything to drink in a few days, here, take this." A bowl of water was pushed in his direction and once sat up, he took a huge gulp of it. Only the moment he got a taste of it, he spat the contents out and a small shriek came from a nearby woman.

"That's disgusting! Are you trying to poison me?" Arthur demanded and threw the bowl on the floor, an eerie silence followed. "What? It's just water."

"We share that water amongst the people in here young man," an elder woman spoke up and he turned to look in her direction. "That is our ration for the day and you just threw it on the floor. We won't receive any more until tomorrow morning." Arthur felt a little guilt creep through him as he glanced at the people in the room. That amount of water would barely satisfy him during a meal, how did this many people share it and stand the taste? Had they never tasted clean water before? "Don't you pity us young man."

"Are you reading my thoughts or something old woman?"

"That would be impossible, what kind of life do you lead if you believe it possible to read another's thoughts?" Arthur felt like he was being teased and a light laughter confirmed his suspicions. How dare they! He was the Prince of Camelot, people bowed to him on the streets and dared not speak against him in fear of being put in the stocks. "Tell me young man, where are you from?"

"My name is Arthur Pendragon and I'm the Prince of Camelot, can't you tell by just looking at me?"

"I am sorry child, my sight was taken from me a few years ago and only have sound to rely on. What are you doing so far from home? In these conditions no less."

"I was attacked by a group of bandits and rendered unconscious. Could you tell me where we are? I must escape and warn my Father." Arthur explained and went to get to his feet, except something rattled against the ground and he found himself incapable of standing. Something was holding him down. "What-"

"Don't waste your time, those chains would hold a dragon down, let alone a single man." It seemed only the old woman wanted to explain to Arthur what was going on and he stopped pulling at his shackles, knowing that these people had no doubt attempted to escape themselves many times. "We are in the dungeons of what I believe to be some kind of castle. The person who is in charge takes a few of us each day and they are never seen again, we have come to the conclusion they either kill us or sell us on."

"And you just here and accept this? Has no one attempted to find you?"

"Who would look for mere servants? Until today, you didn't know this place existed, who's to say the King is any different. We have accepted our fate and ask you don't disrupt what little peace we have down here. Many of us have been here years and wish to live our final moments without trouble." The sound of her moving broke the following silence and Arthur took the chance to look back at the people around him, mainly the little girl who still grasped his hand. How could anyone trap someone so young? "I see our youngest has grown fond of you. Arthur Pendragon, I'd like to introduce you to Morgana, she joined us here a few weeks ago."

"How old is she?" Arthur dared to ask.

"From what we can guess, seven years old. She hasn't spoken a word since her arrival and we think she may be mute. We simply look after her and comfort her during the night when she sleeps, for she has nightmares that cause her to lash out. Morgana has been holding your hand since you arrived. Do you know her?"

Arthur shook her head and gently squeezed the girl's hand, thanking her in his own way. It took great strength to remain as calm as she was doing in such a situation, even Arthur could feel fear creeping into his heart and he was beginning to see that this situation could go from bad to worse very quickly.

* * *

He didn't know how many hours it had been since most of the people in the cell had fallen asleep, how they could even close their eyes was beyond him, the mere thought of someone coming in during the night kept him up. Now he just sat there, staring into the darkness, waiting for someone to come so he could get some answers. Arthur couldn't sit and wonder whether he would be killed if he was taken from here, he needed answers.

Hearing movement beside him, he dipped his head to see Morgana moving to sit beside him, somehow she'd found a way to get out of her shackles and moved around the cell freely. However she often drifted to sit beside Arthur when none of the other women paid her attention. Now they sat there in silence. What on earth was he meant to say? The last time he'd talked to someone her age was when he was that young. "You're a very brave girl, did you know that?" Arthur whispered and he managed to make out a small smile on her lips. "So you do understand me."

Leaning his head back against the column he was up against, he winched as the shackles around his legs rubbed against his damaged skin and Arthur tried to ignore the pain emitting up his leg. Hearing the girl beside him move, he glanced down at her to see her sliding across the floor to sit by his feet, her dark hair hiding most of her in the darkness. "What are you-" he started and had to stop himself from yelling at her as she settled her hands over his leg. Did she not see that he was in pain?

Suddenly a shining light came from her tiny hands and Arthur felt something go through him as he watched her lips move, a flash of gold going through her eyes as the light grew brighter. He took the chance to see where he was being held and saw just how many people were in the cell. Arthur estimated around 30 women were in here with him, no men and Morgana appeared to be the only young prisoner.

Before the light could completely go, Arthur looked back at Morgana to see what she looked like and smirked. She would be a beauty when she grew up. Her skin was pale, extremely so, and her hair was as dark as the night sky. Morgana's face was shaped perfectly for a beautiful woman and she held herself as if she had nothing to fear. For someone so young, he had never seen anyone like her. Only when the light faded did he realise that the pain that had been there before was now gone. She'd somehow managed to rid him of his injuries. "How did you do that?" Arthur asked.

"Magic," her small voice replied and he glanced around to see everyone else was asleep. Did she not wish for anyone to know she could speak? "Are you really a Prince?" Morgana asked and looked over at him with wide eyes.

"I am. I have my own castle and everything," this seemed to impress her as she turned to face him whilst sat on the floor. "Have you ever been to Camelot?" Arthur asked and Morgana shook her head, "Maybe one day I can take you there." Morgana beamed at him and moved to sit back beside him, nudging against his side until he lifted his arm for her to snuggle against his side. Dropping his arm around her, Arthur couldn't help but smile and was glad none of his men were around to see him. He would be mocked for years. "Who taught you magic?"

"No one," Morgana yawned and Arthur looked down at the top of her head. "I've always been able to do it."

A frown took over Arthur's face as he looked at the little girl. His Father had always taught him that sorcerers were never born, they chose to perform magic and it often turned them evil. Someone as young as Morgana couldn't exactly teach herself and if she had anyone to teach her then she'd have been found by now. Did she have no one? "Where are your parents?" Arthur questioned and got no response. Only the sound of deep breathing came back and he shifted a little to see that her eyes had closed. Morgana had fallen asleep. It was oddly cute.

"You have a kind heart Arthur Pendragon," it was the old woman speaking again and Arthur looked over at her. He had believed her asleep. "Thank you for not turning her away. I believe she'll feel safer in your arms."

"You like to believe a lot of things. Don't you ever want to just … _know _things."

"Believing is what keeps me going. If I do not believe that there is more to life than this, then I would not survive the night. Sleep well, tomorrow will be the longest day of your life."

* * *

Someone shaking his shoulder woke him and Arthur opened his eyes, only to quickly close them when the light blinded him. When had it become so bright? His eyes opened more cautiously this time and when his vision had cleared, he looked down to see Morgana staring at him in fear. "What's the matter?" Arthur asked and she looked over her shoulder towards what appeared to be cage doors. "Talk to me Morgana. What's scared you?"

"He is coming," she whispered and climbed onto his lap. Without thinking about it, Arthur put his arms protectively around her as she buried her head against his chest, her entire body shaking in fear. The sound of approaching footsteps made him realise she was talking about one of their captures and he could understand her fear. They would come and take a few of them away, never to be seen again.

"Don't worry, I'm a Prince remember, I can protect you." Arthur told her quietly so not to disturb any of the sleeping women and tried to remain calm as a man appeared through the bars. He was well built and extremely tall, his muscles bulging as he turned the key in the lock. Markings covered most of his skin and he carried two pairs of shackles in one hand, clearly intending to take two people with him. "Who are you?" Arthur asked and the man looked over at him, a small smile tugging at his scarred lips.

"I am no one. It is my master that you should worry about," as the words were said he reached down and grabbed a woman who had been fast asleep. Now she woke in fear and struggled against his hold as he wrapped the shackles around her wrists, she was quickly pushed through the door to another man who was just out of sight. "I have heard rumors that we have caught ourselves a Prince. Is this true?"

"Surely your master can tell you that."

"We do not talk back to our master, we carry out orders without question, it's what is expected." The man looked around at the other women and then his gaze landed on the old woman who Arthur had been talking to last night. "Come on old woman, your day has come. Don't make me come over there and get you." Morgana's hand on Arthur's top tightened at the thought of her friend being taken and Arthur struggled against the chains around his feet. "Calm down Prince. Your day will come soon."

"You cannot take her! She's an old woman, have mercy, you will gain nothing from killing her."

"Who says we are going to kill her?"

"Well you're hardly going to sell her, what good would she be? She's blind." Arthur tried to make the woman sound less appealing, anything to get her back, she was the only one who had explained anything to him last night. "You already have someone. Isn't that enough?"

"You'd be surprised what kind of customers we get," the man winked and left the cell without another word spoken. Arthur only got one last look at the old woman before she was dragged away, a bag over her head to stop her seeing where she was being taken. He heard many of the women cry at the loss of their friends. No one bothered to call out, beg for them to be brought back, they just accepted it.

"Don't leave me," Morgana begged him and he tightened his hold on her.

"I'm not going anywhere. Don't worry," he replied and felt her body relax a little. Arthur couldn't see anyway out of this situation, the chains around his feet were made out of stronger metal than he'd ever seen and he was given no chance to move around the cell freely. He could ask Morgana to do something, except if caught, she would be the one punished. Arthur wouldn't dare let that happen to her. She was too young and innocent.

"She used to tell me Emrys would come," Morgana whispered and Arthur pulled his body away a little to look down at her in confusion.

"Who's Emrys?"

"Someone who could rescue us. He can do anything …" she pushed herself up so that she was sat on Arthur's lap and she gently ran her fingers down the side of his face. Much like that cloaked figure had done all those days ago. "He comes to those in need and saves anyone who cannot save themselves. Emrys will save us."

"I haven't heard of this man."

"He would not make himself known to you," she replied and dropped her hand onto her lap. "You kill those with magic." Her tone had turned cold now and the life had gone from her eyes, just like he imagined all sorcerers eyes to look. Except he knew she wasn't evil. Just one look at her and you knew she had a good heart.

"My Father does. I would never let you be killed. Your magic is good and heals others, who could call that evil?" That seemed to ease her mind as she smiled and some life came back into her huge green eyes. "Me and you, we're going to get out of here. I'll take you to Camelot and show you the castle where you can go to the top of the highest tower and touch the sky with these hands," he brought her hands into his own. "I can get you any coloured dress and turn you into a Princess, how does that sound?"

Morgana tilted her head to the side and smiled innocently, "Magical."

**

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**Thank you for all the kind reviews, I honestly didn't expect so many for my first chapter. I hope everyone has enjoyed the latest installment. Obviously Merlin has yet to make a proper appearance yet, but just you wait, he'll be appearing very soon =]**

**Please Review and I look forward to seeing what you think xx**


	3. Telling A Story

**Telling a story**

* * *

Arthur looked down at the bowl in his hands where the water waited to be drunk. Their daily rations had appeared a few minutes ago and the bowl was being passed around so everyone could quench their thirst. How a simple sip of water did that Arthur didn't know. All he did know was that every day that went past, was another day he couldn't think of a way to get out of here. He didn't deserve the water, he'd only been here a couple of weeks and already he felt himself losing hope. Some of the people around him had been here years and had managed.

"Here," he handed the bowl to Morgana who was once again sat on his lap. "You need it more than I do."

The little girl didn't argue as she took two sips, she may have kept it to herself but this place was beginning to affect her, her body was becoming weaker every day from the little amount of food and water they received. Maybe that was the point. Starve these women enough and they wouldn't put up much of a fight when taken. Once Morgana had finished, Arthur took the bowl and handed it to the next woman, wanting to save the girl the trouble. Without asking, she shuffled up his lap and rested her head against his chest, her eyes closing even though it was daylight outside.

Running his fingers comfortingly through her hair, he stared ahead at the cell door and willed it to open. He would never admit it to his Father but Arthur always wished he knew magic in these situations, to be able to whisper a simple word and have everything done for you, it would make life a whole lot simpler. Instead he was stuck here, with no food or water, only women for company and chains around his feet that Morgana had to heal every day since they were so tight. Arthur was sick of this. He was always in control of a situation, even when his enemies thought he had no way out, Arthur always found a way. Except this time he couldn't.

Looking to his side at one of the newest captives, he saw that she was smiling. Of all the things to do in this place, this girl was smiling, like everything would be fine. "Why are you smiling?" Arthur asked in curiosity.

"I am remembering a story my mother once told me as a child," she explained and opened her eyes to look at him. He could imagine that she attracted a lot of the men from where she came from, that her huge brown eyes were enough to draw anyones attention and somehow Arthur felt nothing. Not an inkling of desire. This place was truly messing with his emotions. "Whenever I got scared and couldn't sleep, she would tell me stories of Emrys. The man who would protect those who could not protect themselves."

"Morgana mentioned that man," Arthur remembered from what seemed a lifetime ago. "What's the big deal about him?"

"Emrys is said to have saved hundreds of lives throughout the land. Apparently this man can talk with creatures that should not exist, cast spells that no mortal should have the power to do and live for years without changing in appearance." A small smile came back to her face, "It is said that such a man has never received love from another."

"And that has you smiling?"

"I smile because my mother often told me I would be his first love when I grew up. Of course now that I'm older I know this not to be true, but when I was little I would dream of marrying this man, of standing by his side whilst he saved those around him." Her fingers rose to meet her lips and Arthur noticed a ring on her left hand, this woman was married. "However I found my one true love because of Emrys. The mere idea of him made me explore the land, travel to places that I wouldn't have normally gone too and in turn, I met my husband."

"Will he not be looking for you then? Maybe there's a chance we'll be found."

She shook her head and all happiness drained from her face, "He would not dare leave the children to come in search of me. I would kill him if he ever did so. I would rather rot away in this cell then have my children alone whilst their Father searches for me. No child should have to be without a parent." Dropping her head back against the wall she brought her knees up to her chest, "I am just happy I can see them in my dreams."

Clearly he was talking to someone who tried to look on the good points in life. Her family was safe and that was all that mattered to her. What did he have? A Father who would only look for him because Arthur was his only heir, knights that searched for him because it was their duty and no family of his own to return too because he refused to settle down. Arthur was beginning to wonder why he even wanted to get out of here. The girl now asleep in his arms was the closest contact he'd had with anyone recently and he had barely known her a few weeks.

However, that was a lie as well. He had had some contact. That cloaked man hadn't hesitated to reach out and touch Arthur. He could still remember the feel of the leather black gloves running across his cheek as the sorcerer gazed at him in fascination, the scar across his skin telling Arthur he'd had a rough past and for some reason decided to help others. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that man had been the famous Emrys.

"Excuse me," he said quietly and the woman he'd been talking to before looked back over at him. "What does Emrys look like then? If he never ages a day."

"No one knows." When he frowned in confusion, she carried on. "He wears a cloak that covers his whole body, even his hands are covered with gloves and nobody has ever gotten close enough to see what's hidden behind the hood he wears. Some people joke that he doesn't even have a face and is simply a ghost trying to give the impression he's real."

"And you say he saves those who can't help themselves?" She nodded. "Anyone in particular? Children? Women? Sorcerers?" He tried to make it general but she gave him a look that let him know he wasn't exactly being subtle.

"I believe his main focus is saving accused sorcerers from Camelot."

So Arthur had seen this so called Emrys and she was right, unless the man came right up close, there was no way anyone would know what he looked like. He wondered how many people actually knew there was a scar running across his face. Going back into his own thoughts, he left the woman to think about her family and wondered whether Emrys had any family. Maybe some of the stories were true, maybe no one had ever loved him. Arthur doubted anyone would ever find out.

* * *

It was late into the night when Arthur felt that something was wrong. There were sounds coming from outside the cell and the women stirred from their sleep in fear of what was about to happen. Morgana, who had been fast asleep, now sat up straight and looked in the direction of the cell door whilst clutching onto Arthur's top. "They come," she whispered. Morgana then spun to look at him and there was such fear in her eyes that Arthur felt the emotion as if it were his own, "They come for me."

"You can't know that. They're probably just patrolling, go back to sleep, I'll keep watch." Arthur said and opened his arms out, except for once she didn't snuggle against his chest in comfort. "Morgana, you're safe with me."

"They'll take me and will have no choice but to watch," her tiny hand lifted up to his face and she traced his lips delicately. Arthur felt suddenly very protective over her and he grabbed the hand in his own large one, what if she knew what was to come? Was he about to lose her?

No. Arthur refused to let them take her.

So as the sound of approaching footsteps became louder, he made Morgana hide behind him as he shifted a little so he wasn't pressed against the wall and he tried to give off a casual appearance. The women around him weren't helping by having a look of panic on their faces. As the cell door unlocked, the room fell silent and Arthur's gaze shifted to the man now entering. It was just the one guy this time by the looks of it. Making a late night pick up.

"Where's the girl?" He demanded to know.

"There are a lot of girls in here, you'll have to be a bit more specific." Arthur teased and felt two hands grab the back of his top.

"The young one," he came forward and didn't bother avoiding the sleeping women on the floor as he walked. Many woke from being kicked or walked on. All watching as he approached Arthur. "She's been attached to you for weeks now. Where is she?"

"Don't know who you're talking about," Arthur lied and gritted his teeth when the man's hand whacked him across the head. "I don't think hitting me will help the situation. She's not here. Maybe you took her a few days ago and can't remember?"

"Think you're being clever do you?" The man lifted Arthur by the scruff of his neck and bent down so their faces were close. "You may be the Prince of wherever, however here I'm the bloody Prince and you do as I say. Where is she?" Arthur wondered whether he sounded like that when he was giving orders. "If I don't get her then I'll take you. I'm sure our customer would be equally pleased with a Prince."

"No!" The soft voice followed and Arthur closed his eyes. Of course Morgana would speak up, she wouldn't let anyone take her place, most of all him. She appeared at his side and tugged at the man's hold so he'd release Arthur. "Let him go! I'll come," Morgana said firmly and Arthur was thrown back on the floor. Not before he grabbed the little girl and held her to him as he lay on the floor. "Let me go Arthur," she whispered.

"I told you, me and you, we're getting out of here. They're not taking you," he replied and winced as something hard collided with his stomach. He could only guess it was the man's foot. "The only way you're taking her is over my dead body and you'd be surprised how hard it is to kill me," Arthur said loudly to the man and then noticed movement coming from the cell door. His friends had arrived to see what was taking so long. Great. One guy he could handle, four of them, not so much.

"You know what I think-"

"You think?"

A fist hit his head and Arthur held Morgana tighter as she struggled to get free. She wasn't going anywhere. Not if he had anything to do with it. "Guys, take the girl. I'm going to teach this guy a few manners."

Arthur covered Morgana's body as the men approached and he threw a few punches as they tried to move him. One of them undid his chains so they could move him and he took the chance to strike back. However not even someone like him could fight off four strong men and soon enough he was being held to the floor as one man carried Morgana off over his shoulder. "Morgana! NO! Damn it, no!"

Finding some strength left in him, he sprung from the hold and darted after Morgana's capture. He managed to make it out of the cell, however he was met by another man who's hand shot towards Arthur stomach and he had no time to react. Except it wasn't a fist that met his stomach. Instead a knife pierced his flesh and slipped between his ribs as it shot upwards. His eyes wide with shock, Arthur stared at Morgana who was struggling to break free, tears streaming down her face as she saw what had happened.

"Arthur! Let me go! ARTHUR!"

Whoever had the knife now pulled back and looked down at him as he fell to the ground, his hand going to his wound to feel liquid pouring from it. "This will teach you not to mess with us," a sinister voice came and pain erupted from his legs as the person snapped each in half. How that was even possible Arthur didn't know. All he did know was that he'd never felt such pain.

Turning his head to the side, he couldn't help but smile when he saw Morgana biting her capture, who quickly dropped her to tend to their wounds. She ran towards Arthur and knelt by his side, clutching his arm as the stabber tried to pry her away. "Arthur, please don't die! I wouldn't have told you if I knew … if I had seen. No! Let me go! Stop it!" Morgana kicked at the man's face and Arthur's arm unconsciously wrapped around her waist to keep her close.

"Fuck this, get the master!"

The man released Morgana who still clung to Arthur and he opened his eyes to see tears still running down her cheeks. "Hey, I'm okay, it's just a scratch." He couldn't help but lie, Arthur didn't want her to know he was most likely dying, the wound so deep that it was likely a major organ had been hit. "Stop those crocodile tears. You got to be brave remember?"

"Emrys will come," she whispered and determination came across her face. "He has too." Too bad that Emrys hated his family otherwise he'd believe her. "Emrys!" Morgana screamed now and stared at the empty hall around them, the men now gone to get their master. "You have to help him! Emrys!"

"Sweetie, he's not-"

"Oh how the mighty have fallen," came a voice he recognised and his looked at a cloaked figure who stood over them. He couldn't have come. There was no way he'd help a Pendragon. "We need to get you out of here," he now said and picked up Morgana with ease since she believed they'd both be saved. Arthur knew different.

"Arthur too!" Morgana said loudly as Emrys turned to leave and Arthur smiled inwardly, that girl was going to be a strong woman when she was older. No one would tell her what to do. "You help those who need help. He needs help. Help him."

"He is not my problem."

Arthur heard the distant sound of voices and looked back at the two sorcerers, "Take her and go." Emrys looked down at him and Arthur didn't have to see to know he looked confused at Arthur's words. "Take Morgana and go. She deserves to live. Do your-" pause "-wind thing and go." He took a deep breath as the pain increased tenfold and Arthur tried not to show the pain on his face.

"You're asking me to save her and not you?" Emrys asked.

"Do you not understand orders or something. Take her and go!" He made his tone strong on the last four words and then felt the pain go. Now he knew he was a dead man … well, lying on the ground. It was said that when you were near death that the pain went. That all you could do was see your life flash before your eyes. However he did get one last look of a screaming Morgana as she vanished into thin air along with Emrys. At least the sorcerer did something right.

Hearing someone approach him, Arthur gritted his teeth as he was lifted from the ground and was held facing an older man who glared at him angrily. "Where is she? What have you done with her? My customer is waiting."

Arthur smiled and knew it wouldn't look pretty as he tasted the blood entering his mouth. Spitting it on the ground at the man's feet, Arthur met his gaze head on and said, "Go. To. Hell."

"Kill him," the 'master' ordered and Arthur closed his eyes. Waiting for the fatal blow that would come. He accepted that this was how it was going to end. Arthur had gone out fighting just like he'd always wanted. He'd made sure Morgana was safe and his Father would never know what had happened to him. Let him always wonder. At least it meant he'd always think about the Son he lost. The only sad thing about all of this was that there wasn't a single person who would miss _him _rather than the Prince. Well, apart from Morgana anyway, but she would grow up and forget about him, he knew that. He wasn't exactly memorable.

"You really are a prat," came a voice to break the silence and suddenly Arthur's world went black.

**

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Thanks again for all the reviews =] Each one makes me happy and it's great to hear what people think.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and if I'm feeling very nice I might get the next one up tonight, seeing as I have NOTHING to do. **

**Please Review and see you in the next chapter!**


	4. Healing A Prince

**Healing A Prince**

* * *

Emrys looked down at the sleeping Prince with fascination. When he slept, there was a certain vulnerable look to him and it was hard to imagine that he could be a threat to anyone. The Prince let out a small moan as he slept and with a few quiet words, Emrys rid him of any pain he was experiencing. Taking the burden on himself. After all, the pain he was feeling was nothing compared to what he'd dealt with in the past and he barely noticed the new pain going through his body. He didn't even know why he was helping ease the pain, if the Prince was given half the chance, he'd have Emrys in chains and in a cold cell before another word was said. So why was he doing this?

It was five days ago when he returned to the Druid camp with the little sorcerer, who he now knew to be Morgana, screaming and lashing out as he held her. When she had been set on the ground, her tiny fists had pounded against his stomach as she told him to go back, that her Prince needed saving. She had promised him the world if he got him back, that she'd do everything and anything Emrys wanted. It had only taken five minutes of her screaming to convince him to go and within moments the slave traders had been knocked unconscious around his feet. The Prince along with them.

Glancing over at the sleeping girl next to the Prince, he noticed her tiny hand had reached out and clutched at his hand that had been pulled free from the blankets. Morgana had been the first to attempt to heal Arthur's wound on his stomach, her hands had been drenched in dark blood and she had sobbed as her healing light didn't work. Emrys had simply looked at one of the sorcerers around her and they had dragged her off, leaving him to work on the Prince. Ever since then, Morgana had been at his side and asking him to wake up, telling him that he had to take her to Camelot. The Prince had yet to wake up.

Crouching down to get a closer look at the injured Prince, he tried to think of a reason why he saved him, he could lie and tell himself it was because Morgana would have been upset. Except that wasn't true. Emrys could have left and never looked back, he would never have had to look at her depressed face and he'd never have to feel the guilt. Truth be told, he hadn't felt anything in a long while apart from anger. That anger had almost made him leave the Prince to die. Let Uther feel the loss, the pain that came from losing a loved one and having no power to change it. Just like he'd felt all those years ago … because of the almighty King.

"Emrys, is that you?" He didn't have to look over his shoulder to see who it was, only one person dared address him in this camp and he would have it no other way. Getting to his feet, he made sure to move over so she could get to her chair and lowered his hood. After all, she was blind and couldn't see what he looked like. She was no threat to him. "You should rest Emrys. Arthur will heal by himself just fine, you've done enough and I can keep an eye on him. He doesn't need a guardian angel watching over him." It was funny, no one had ever called him anything remotely close to that in his life, if anything he had been called a devil.

"What about the girl," he said and looked over at her sleeping form. "Have we got word about her family? Where she's from?"

"Unfortunately we have heard that on the night of her capture, her entire village was destroyed, along with any remaining family she had. Morgana will remain here and we'll try to squeeze her in whatever little space we can find. Everyone has become fond of her, it won't be hard to find … well someone to look after her." Emrys could hear the tender tone in her voice and knew if no one else took the girl in, she would. It wasn't like the Prince could take Morgana with him, he might have told her lovely stories about going to Camelot but the moment she entered through the doors of that Kingdom, she was a dead sorcerer walking. "He should be awake by now Emrys, his wounds are healing and his legs need to start exercising to strengthen up."

"He'll be awake tomorrow," Emrys whispered. Tomorrow everything would change. The Prince would wake up to find himself surrounded by the very people he'd grown up to hate. Emrys had a feeling that all hell was about to break loose.

* * *

"I don't think he's every going to wake up." Morgana's voice was what he heard first as he slowly began to wake up and as his eyes pried open, he saw her big green eyes gazing down at him with worry. "Arthur!" She flung her arms around his neck and clung to him tightly enough that he began to struggle to breathe. However a soft hand on Morgana's shoulder made her pull away and he was shocked to see the elder woman from the cell looking down at him.

"You were sold," he managed to get out from his raw throat. Morgana was quick to pass him a mug of water and he gratefully took it, gulping down the cool water.

"Emrys had been looking for me for quite some time, the moment I was bought he found me and I explained what had happened. I am the reason young man that you are lying there today. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have been able to find you in time and consequently save your life. I believed everything would work out and it has," she smiled happily at him and took her seat as Arthur pushed himself up. A hand instantly going to his stomach as he remembered the knife sliding into his skin. However there was barely any pain as he sat up.

"I thought Emrys was a story?"

"A story that I started. I have known Emrys most of his life and I like people to know he's around, watching and willing to help. If it were up to him he'd slip in and out of people's lives without them even knowing about it. He lives in this very camp and I do hope you'll thank him when you're feeling up to it."

"Thank him? Last thing I remember was him taking Morgana and leaving me to die, not exactly heroic." Setting the mug down, he looked down at his leg and winced when he attempted to move one. At least they weren't broken anymore. How that was possible he didn't know or dare ask, too much was going on right now. "Where am I anyway? This hardly feels like Camelot."

"We're in a Druid camp Arthur!" Morgana now spoke up and went over to sit on the elder woman's lap, a smile covering her face. "There are loads of people here, some are even my age, they're all so kind and loads have been asking how you are. I've even made some new friends." Arthur was glad Morgana was happy, that she was safe, however he knew the moment he stepped out of this tent he was a dead man. Those people out there knew who he was, they knew his Father killed them just for using magic, why would they treat him any differently compared to how they'd treat the King?

"How long have I been unconscious?" Arthur asked.

"This would have been your sixth day if you'd slept through it but Emrys said you'd wake up today. Once you are able to move we'd like to move you to another tent, it's slightly bigger and it means people can come visit you. This is only small since only one person is meant to sleep in here. Not two plus whoever drops by."

"Can I see this Emrys? If he is the reason I'm here I would like to thank him."

"He's gone out for the day but I'm sure he'll drop by tomorrow, you are his patient after all." Arthur nodded in acceptance and lay back down, his body suddenly feeling very tired again. "You should go back to sleep. Your body has gone through a lot and needs time to heal," the elder woman got to her feet and took hold of Morgana's hand. "Lets leave him to rest sweetie. There's someone I want to introduce you to." With that said, Arthur was left alone to sleep for which he was grateful, it was one thing waking up to find you weren't alone, going to sleep was another. Maybe tomorrow he'd meet this famous Emrys. He at least owed him a thank you.

* * *

It was over a week before Arthur was able to walk around by himself, he still needed the help of a walking stick but he could manage without someone holding him up now. As long as he took rests that is. Emrys hadn't turned up like the elder woman had said, she'd made the excuse that he was too tired and busy doing other things, except Arthur knew he was around. Morgana often told him that Emrys was sat by his fire, staring at it from his hooded cloak and she'd once tried to approach him. He'd simply told her to go find someone else to play with and she hadn't argued. He wasn't someone you messed with.

So when everyone had gone to sleep and he was sure no one would catch him, Arthur left his new tent in search of Emrys. At first he tried to make his footsteps subtle and attempted to quieten his walking stick against the ground. However Arthur soon realised that he wouldn't be heard. Not at this late hour. Walking with his eyes staring into the darkness, he could just make out a small light in the distance, it could only be a fire by the way it kept flicking against the background. As he approached the light, he saw the hooded man sat on a log around the fire, just like Morgana had described to him. Did he ever move?

"What do you want your majesty, can you not sleep?" Arthur hadn't expected Emrys to talk to him, let alone first, so it took him a few seconds to process what he'd said.

"I can sleep perfectly well, thank you. I just wanted to come find you, you're a hard man to track down, even though you live here. Every time I've left my tent to exercise you've mysteriously vanished to go and do some job. Do you regret saving me or something?" Arthur didn't wait for the invitation to sit down and propped his walking stick against the log beside him, his gaze never leaving the figure who had yet to look at him.

"Are you going to say what you came here to say or are you just going to annoy me? Believe me, both will result in you leave in a matter of minutes. Whether by choice or force."

"Are you always this cranky?" Arthur asked and rubbed his hands together in an attempt to stay warm, he wasn't used to living in cold conditions with such little clothing. "I've been told you were the one who saved me and I wanted to thank you personally. You didn't have to come for me and have no reason to want to, I can only guess you did it for Morgana's sake." When he got no reply, he frowned. "It's rude to ignore people."

"Funny that you say that, I hear you do it all the time." Emrys commented and got to his feet gracefully. "You should turn in for the night. It's getting late and the wolves will get you if you're not careful," he got warned and Arthur felt anger boil inside him. How dare someone treat him like this. He was the Prince and the fact the sorcerer hadn't even acknowledged his gratitude was just plain rude and Arthur wouldn't be Arthur if he let Emrys get away with it.

However when he got to his feet to chase after Emrys, pain shot up through his right leg and he fell forward. Straight towards the fire. Covering his head in a small attempt to protect himself, he found that he was no longer falling and instead was 'leaning' against an invisible shield that prevented him from crashing into the fire. When he looked to the side, he saw Emrys standing there with his hand outstretched, the remains of a gold flash now vanishing. "Don't get yourself killed just yet. I don't want to have saved you for nothing."

Arthur nodded and his body tensed as the sorcerer approached him, who slipped an unexpected slim arm around his waist to pull him back to his feet. He stared in awe as the sorcerer picked up his walking stick and shoved it against his chest, however the shove hadn't been hard, if anything it had been gentle incase of harming Arthur's stomach wound. "Thank you, again." The sorcerer gave a small nod of the head and went to go back into his own tent, except Arthur had already grasped the sleeve of the cloak in order to stop him. "Can't you stay and talk? I've had women fussing over me for days … male companionship would be appreciated."

"I'm not exactly what you call good company," Emrys replied.

"Please, just take pity on an injured soul and sit with me. That's all I ask." Arthur shivered as a cool breeze swept through the camp and Emrys tilted his head a little in his hood before turning. Great, so much for that idea.

"Are you coming in then or just going to stand out there in the cold?" Emrys said back over his shoulder and Arthur felt the first smile in days come to his lips. Following after the sorcerer eagerly, he pushed back the tent door and had to stand still in shock as he gazed at what he was seeing.

Outside the tent had look ordinary, smaller if anything compared to everyone else's and Arthur had assumed it was because there was only one guy staying in here. However what he saw now was big enough to fit more than triple the amount of people living in the camp. There was a huge open space in the middle where a table lay dead in the center, only one chair sat at the head where no doubt Emrys ate his meals alone. A drape hung from the ceiling at the other end of the tent and Arthur presumed that the bed lay beyond there, along with anything else Emrys wanted to keep private. Surrounding the space were shelves filled with books, flasks containing liquids and random ornaments that held little value to anyone but their owner.

It was like he'd walked straight into a dream where the impossible happened.

"How … how did you do this?" Arthur asked as he sealed the tent door to keep the warmth in. He certainly wasn't feel cold now.

"How do you think?" Emrys walked over to a hook on the wall and removed his cloak, Arthur didn't even register it as he began studying each detail of the room. "Take a seat before your leg drops off. I'm not carrying you again," Emrys muttered and Arthur noticed there were now two chairs at the table. Surprisingly not at either end but his was next to the original one at the head.

"You saying I'm heavy?" Arthur accused.

"Well you're not exactly light are you," it wasn't a question, more a statement. Arthur turned his head to look at Emrys, having every intention on yelling at him, except words were lost to him as he finally got to see the famous Emrys without his cloak on.

Like he'd see back at Camelot, there was indeed a scar running across his eye and cheek, deep enough that it would never heal. His eyes were a bright blue and Emrys was in need of a hair cut since it was getting awfully close to covering his eyes. Arthur couldn't help but notice his large ears that poked out at the side, they were rather cute. He also didn't look as intimidating like this. Especially since with the flick of his hand his clothes turned into something a lot more casual. All he kept the same was his gloves that remained black and leather.

"You know, you're not what I expected."

Emrys looked at him briefly before taking his seat, "I'm not what anyone expects. Get used to it."

**

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Sorry for the time jumps during these first few chapters, it was needed to get some time between Arthur being captured and found. Plus the whole healing process wouldn't have had much said about it if I did put it in, so don't be mad XD **

**We got to see a little bit of Emrys' POV this chapter! *dances* It isn't as well written as I hope, since my laptop crashed when I went for a drink and it all went. Hopefully you all still liked it. **

**Thank you so much for the reviews everyone =] I have 8 for each chapter which I think is kinda cool. **

**Please Review and the next chapter will be put up soon. **


	5. Touching A Symbol

**Touching A Symbol**

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"You're a lot younger then I thought you would be," Arthur commented as Emrys waved his hand to summon two cups from a shelf. "Then again, Morgana told me that you don't age, so for all I know you're hundreds of years old and just don't look it." Emrys didn't respond, he simply stared at the empty cups and his eyes flashed gold. The cups now filled with a warm beverage. "My Father would kill me if I knew I was talking to you. You're starting to get on his nerves by saving all those sorcerers and he'll no doubt have you executed if your caught." A small snigger came from Emrys and Arthur raised an eyebrow, "What's so funny about that?"

"The mere idea of being caught by Uther is amusing. He wouldn't know where to begin when looking for me," Emrys stated and took a big gulp of his drink. "Besides, nowhere can hold me. I'd be out of the holding cell before he could sentence me to death."

"You know, you shouldn't address him so informally. He is still your King."

"Uther hasn't been my King for a very long time," he replied coldly and Arthur's gaze dropped to the gloved hand holding the cup. Why did he keep his hands covered? Did he not like touching things? Did he have more scars marking his skin? Where had he got the scars from? "You think too much," Emrys muttered and put his hand beneath the table.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have to have the ability to read minds to know you're thinking too much. You have this stern expression that is quite like your Father's …" he drifted off and then for some reason changed the subject. Apparently the topic of Arthur's Father wasn't one he wanted to have. "How are your legs doing generally?"

"Better," Arthur replied quickly and looked down at them. "They grow stronger every day and I barely feel any pain, which is odd. I know I should be in agony." Glancing back at the sorcerer, he saw his gaze had wondered off and Arthur followed his line of sight to see he wasn't staring at anything in particular. Emrys certainly did some weird things. "Everything alright?" Arthur asked and was silenced when Emrys raised his hand. He'd never been silenced before in his life.

"I have to go," Emrys eventually said to break the silence and got to his feet. He went over to his cloak and pulled it on over his shoulders, the clothing beneath now black as well. Emrys was back to being the mysterious figure everyone talked about. "Feel free to stay and finish your drink, the weather's picked up outside so it'll be hard to find your tent for a while."

"Where are you-" Emrys vanished into thin air "-going?" Now Arthur was left alone to his own thoughts and Emrys hadn't even considered that Arthur would explore his tent. Did he trust Arthur or something? Deciding it was his own fault for leaving him, Arthur got to his feet and leaving the walking stick by the table, he hobbled over to the drape that hung from the ceiling. Curiosity getting the better of him as he pulled it back to reveal a luxurious bed that was fit for a King. It was probably bigger than Arthur's own bed by the looks of it. How on earth had he managed to get something like this inside a tent? Then again, nothing about this tent should be possible.

Going over to the bedside table, he noticed a small piece of parchment on the top. It looked so old that Arthur feared to touch it, as he lifted it slowly, he delicately opened it up to reveal a hand written note.

_To Merlin,_

_Gone out to buy some bread. Be back soon._

_Love Mum x_

Arthur stared down at the writing and wondered why Emrys had something like this, had it belonged to someone he knew? It obviously was important to him since he'd kept it by his bedside, question was, who was Merlin? He didn't have time to think about it as something bashed against the side of the tent and he dropped the note from the shock, seeing that it had fallen between the bed and the bedside table, he sat down so he could rest his leg as well as get the note back. However he found the bed beneath him was so soft that the note was forgotten.

Lying back, Arthur lifted his feet off the ground and moved to lie in the center of the bed. If he had a bed like this, he'd never leave and would sleep all the time. It sunk just enough to make him comfortable, the pillows were as soft as feathers and the size meant he could move around as much as he wanted without ever having the risk of falling off. Emrys was one lucky sorcerer to have such a luxury. Feeling his body relaxing, Arthur closed his eyes and didn't notice the light in the tent fade. The Prince was now surrounded in darkness and it was enough to send him off into a much needed deep sleep.

* * *

"Your safe now. He won't find you here," Emrys told the young teenage boy who was stood in the tent the Prince had originally been brought to. When he'd been in the company of the Prince back in his own tent, he'd heard the quiet pleas coming from the person stood in front of him as he faced the thought of being executed tomorrow morning, Uther being the King who sentenced him. Emrys had been quick to get there but unlike before, Uther had been expecting him.

Knights had filled the cell where the boy lay shivering as he apologized for bringing Emrys there, he hadn't felt any anger towards the boy, he was just afraid and didn't want to die. Unfortunately he hadn't had as much energy as usual and taking out the knights had taken longer than anticipated, long enough to alert the King of his arrival and he'd soon come face to face with the King. He'd demanded to be told where his Son was, that Emrys would be held responsible for whatever happened to him and if he was smart, would hand the Prince over without any trouble.

Emrys had simply grabbed the boy and disappeared, leaving the King without answers. Now he had to make sure the new member to the camp had somewhere to sleep for the night until he could contact the elder to let her know someone else's family needed to be found. So he made a bed out of blankets and pointed towards it, "Sleep here for tonight. Tomorrow we'll sort something better out. Normally we have injured people in here so it's not that big."

"What if the King finds me?" The boy asked just before Emrys left the tent.

"Believe me kid, he won't ever find this place." Closing the tent door, he hurried over to his tent where he had a warm comfy bed waiting for him and some dry clothes. As he pushed back his own tent door and his tent came to life, he noticed the lights in the bedding area remained off. That was strange. They only remained off when someone slept in the bed.

Draping his cloak over his chair, his eyes took in his surroundings and he noticed the Prince's walking stick remained leaning against the table. Great. The Prince had decided to take his invitation and turned it into a stay the night invite. Leaving the Prince to sleep for a few more minutes, Emrys went over to his cupboard and changed into some dry clothes that he could sleep in. He was really not in the mood to deal with that prat. He'd invited him in out of pity, now all he felt was annoyance that the Prince thought he could make himself comfortable in someone else's home.

Storming over, Emrys pushed back the drape and walked to the side of the bed to stare down at the Prince in anger. "Wake up!" Emrys exclaimed and that was all it took to wake the sleeping Prince who rolled over to look at the angry sorcerer. "How dare you sleep in my bed! This isn't some place where you can stay for the night, you have your own tent with your own bed in it, go back and stay there."

"Are you always this moody when other people use your things?" His royal highness asked and sat up slowly, rubbing his tired eyes so to adjust to the light that had now turned on upon Emrys' arrival through the drape. "Look, I can't sleep well in that tent. I'm used to sleeping in an actual bed and my back is killing me because of it. Can't we just share this bed for tonight? I promise I won't take up much room, I-"

"Can you hear yourself talking? Stop being a spoilt ungrateful Prince and accept what the people here have offered you." Grabbing him by the arm, he lifted him from the bed and began dragging him to the main entrance. "I can't believe you thought you could just come in here and sleep in my bed. I-" he looked over to see the Prince now laughing as he was being pulled through the tent and Emrys frowned "-why are you laughing?"

"It's hard to believe that the famous Emrys would be so emotional over a bed. I bet if people heard about this then your reputation would be ruined." Arthur put his hands on either of Emrys' shoulders and looked at him with a huge smile plastered across his face, "You really are cute when your angry." Emrys glared at him and summoned his walking stick, which he pushed against Arthur's chest with. "Look, can't you just make me a bed then?" Arthur asked and Emrys stopped in his movement, "I just need somewhere decent to sleep. For one night."

"I can't make things out of thin air you know."

"You made that drink appear," Arthur pointed out.

"I already had the water nearby and it only required heating up, that's not making something out of thin air." Emrys went to push Arthur out of the tent when the sound of pouring rain made itself known to the boys and Arthur pouted at him. He didn't need to say anything for Emrys to know he didn't want to go out in that weather. "Oh fine! You'll be waking up early to go back to your own tent though. People start hearing I'm sharing my bed, I'll never get it to myself."

"Thank you," Arthur replied and hurried past Emrys to get back to the warmth of the bed. Rolling his eyes, Emrys rubbed his temples and waited for his anger to subside. What was happening to him? First he was saving the Prince, now he was sharing his bed. Maybe next he'd risk his own safety in order to save the Prince. The day that happened, he would be doomed. "Are you coming?" Arthur's loud voice yelled and Emrys entered the bedding area, immediately taking a seat on the nearest side of the bed. He didn't often roll over to the other side of the bed anyway. "Do you snore?" Arthur asked.

"I haven't been in a situation where I could ask someone," Emrys replied and pulled back his side of the cover so he could slip under it. When his head was on the pillow the lights went out, leaving them both in darkness and silence. For some reason Emrys wasn't finding it as awkward as he thought it might be. "Do you snore?" Emrys asked back.

"I've never slept in the same bed as anyone. I always ordered them to leave," Arthur stated like it was a normal thing to do. Emrys smirked, that was such a Prince like thing to do, even if you didn't know he was a Prince, you'd guess it. Rolling onto his side, Emrys removed his gloves and placed them on the bedside table. He'd make sure to wake up before Arthur to put them back on. "Goodnight," came a soft voice and Emrys closed his eyes at the sound. He hadn't been told goodnight in years.

"Goodnight." His last thought was on when he had suddenly started to refer to the Prince by name and not status.

* * *

Arthur snuggled deeper into the warmth of the bed as he began to wake for the day ahead. Last night had been the best night sleep he had had since being taken, he would even admit it had been comfier than being back in his own bed, especially with the sleeping radiator next to him. Emrys may give off the appearance of being cold but surprisingly he was a very warm person, even when you didn't even touch him. The thought brought a smile to his lips. He had learnt so many things about this man that could ruin any ideas people had about him and yet had no intention of telling anyone, it was like their own little secret.

Opening one of his eyes, he saw Emrys was still fast asleep and facing him. His head was buried in the pillow and one of his hands squeezed the duvet that he held up to cover his neck. Arthur seized the opportunity to study the sorcerer's hand and saw that there were no scars like expected, no deformation of the fingers, if anything his hand looked delicate. Reaching forward, Arthur gently pried the hand away from the duvet and found a symbol on his palm. Blinking a few times to clear his vision, he saw that it was in the shape of an eye with spirals coming out of it, all of which reached out to cover his hand.

He gasped as the spirals began to move, each stretching out and darkening. Arthur didn't think to let go as the markings moved across Emrys' skin and towards his own, when the first spiral end touched his hand his breath caught in his throat as the two of them were surrounded in a blinding light. Turning his head, he gazed at the light and saw images forming. The more spirals that moved onto his skin, the clearer the images got and Arthur could just about make out Camelot's castle that was surrounded by huge trees.

"Enough!" A loud voice shattered the images and the light vanished, leaving Arthur lying there in silence as he caught his breath. He kept his gaze up as he felt the bed beside him shift and Arthur lifted his hand into the air, no markings to be seen. "You should not have done that," Emrys stated and he turned his head to see the sorcerer sat on the end of the bed with his hands now covered with gloves.

"What was that? Why did I see Camelot?" He got no reply and as a result, Arthur sat up in the bed to look over at the sorcerer who had his hands grasped on his lap. They were shaking. Fearing that he'd somehow hurt him, Arthur went to sit beside him on the bed and gently placed a hand over them. Emrys instantly tensed and yanked his hands away, looking away from Arthur. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't know what would happen. Are-"

Emrys suddenly jumped to his feet and opened the draw in his bedside table, his eyes scanning the contents in search of something. When he didn't find it, he looked on the surrounding ground and then his gaze landed on Arthur. "Where is it?" He demanded to know and when Arthur looked confused, he pointed to the bedside table. "It was right there. My note. You've got it haven't you? Taking my bed wasn't enough, you had to take that as well? Where is it?"

"Oh that! It fell down the gap-" he didn't finish the sentence as the piece of furniture flew through the air and the note appeared in plain sight. Emrys bent down and with such care, picked up the note. Arthur watched as his eyes read the words and he wondered whether Emrys knew he mouthed the words. "See, no harm done. It's safe. No one is hurt. Now how about we go get some breakfast? I think I heard someone saying we're getting chicken soup."

"I don't think you quite understand the situation here Pendragon," Emrys said in a dark tone and suddenly Arthur found himself lying back on the bed with the sorcerer glaring down at him. "Last night changed nothing. You are the very thing I hate and it was only pity that got you a bed, it won't happen again." Arthur wondered why the mood swing had suddenly occurred and was stopped from asking when a strong hand pressed against his chest. "I am not your friend, alley or subject. I am the very thing you should fear when you close your eyes and if you ever come into my home again, I'll end you."

"Emrys wait-"

"_Geleórednes_," Emrys whispered.

Arthur blinked and suddenly found himself lying in midair in his tent, a second later he crashed down to earth, no longer having a bed beneath him. Staring at the ceiling in shock, he shuddered from the change in temperature and wondered what on earth had just happened. Why had Emrys acted like that from a note ... or was it because Arthur had touched the symbol on his hand? So many questions went through his head, but one stuck out more than the others.

Was he ever going to get to talk to Emrys again?

**

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I think I jinxed the reviews XD The moment I say I have 8 for every chapter, the amount of reviews drops for my latest. I'm sorry! I'm hoping it's not because it was a suckish chapter. **

**A lot more interaction happened between the boys in this chapter =] They even shared a bed. Who knows what will happen next. Guess you'll have to keep reading to find out.**

**Dare I say it ... please review? **


	6. Protecting A Camp

**Protecting A Camp**

* * *

Emrys stared at the now empty bed and closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself. Just knowing that Arthur had been going through his things, that he could have quite easily destroyed his most treasured possession, made emotions stir inside him that he hadn't had to deal with in a long time. A week ago life was simple. He rescued people, brought them here and then went back to his tent to be alone. No complications. It was how it had been for so long that he was beginning to forget how to actually socialise with people, not that they'd want to talk to him, especially when they got a good look at the scar running across his face.

Arthur had treated him like he was any other person. Had even sought out his company when everyone else avoided him. It was the main reason he'd revealed himself by taking off the cloak. He'd wanted to see how the Prince would react if he got a good look at the 'famous Emrys' as he liked to phrase it. Surprisingly Arthur had looked at him in fascination rather than disgust.

Ignoring the good points about his royal highness, Emrys pushed himself up so he was standing tall and summoned the bedside table back into place so the note could be put back in the draw. Not before he took one last look at it. The writing looked so old that it looked like it was from another lifetime, nobody would believe him if he told them it was a little under two decades old. Tracing the words with his fingertip, he wondered whether life could ever go back to being as simple as it had once been. That one day he could write his own note to a loved one saying he'd gone out for bread. Except he'd actually return.

_Don't think about that._

Slamming the draw shut with the note inside, he locked away a part of his life that had been long forgotten and flicked his hand as he left so the bed was made. Any trace of the Prince removed. Closing the drape behind him, Emrys went over to the cupboard to grab his cloak, needing to go talk to the elder before anyone else started waking up. They had a new member of the camp to sort out first. Draping the cloak around his shoulders, he transformed his clothes into the normal black attire and walked from his tent. Unfortunately for him, Emrys didn't notice the walking stick leaning against the table and he'd later regret it.

* * *

"Arthur, are you listening to me?" Morgana moaned as they sat around a fire for their morning meal. Arthur had been listening, at least until the point he saw Emrys in a heated discussion with the elder by his old tent, both having their heads down low and Emrys seemed to be resisting the urge to yell. They were too far away to be heard and due to Emrys wearing his cloak, Arthur couldn't lip read his end of the conversation. The elder on the other hand was doable.

_"What if you had been caught?"_

_"One day that's not going to be enough. He'll find someway of-"_

_"Doesn't mean you can do anything you want."_

_"No … you shouldn't have left him but at least tell someone if you're going."_

_"Oh really, who?"_

_"I was just curious Emrys. No need to get mad."_

_"I'll try and find out where he's from, in the mean time go and have breakfast, you look awful."_

"Arthur!" Morgana now said his name loudly and Emrys looked in their direction to see he was being watched. Instead of coming for breakfast like ordered, he vanished into thin air and left the elder sighing to herself. Great, now he looked like a stalker. "Modred is coming over, be nice, he's my friend." Arthur listened to the small request and moved his gaze to the approaching figure, only to recognise him as the young boy that had been due to be executed when he'd first seem a glimpse of Emrys. "Modred, this is-"

"I know who he is," Modred muttered and grabbed a bowl so he could serve himself some food. "Arthur Pendragon. Prince of Camelot. Father is Uther Pendragon who would have us all killed if he knew his Son was here." For someone so young, he certainly had an attitude. "Why can't you just go home? Every minute you're here is another minute we're at risk of being found."

"I'll be going home when I can, Modred. Until then I guess you're stuck with me and you'll have to lose the attitude if you want to stay on my good side."

"You have a good side? Kept that well hidden." Modred finished serving some soup and walked off to sit with some other people. Morgana was pouting next to him and then pounded her fists against his arm in annoyance.

"I asked you to be nice!"

Arthur was quickly left alone as she walked off to join her friend. He didn't really mind, she needed to bond with other people since he wouldn't be here long, soon enough he'd be back in Camelot where he could get back to his usual routine.

* * *

By the time dinner came around, Arthur was finding that he was more bored than usual and being restricted to one area was beginning to annoy him. His legs were feeling much better after a good nights sleep and he was able to walk for longer without them aching, Arthur was hoping that it would be tomorrow he could go home. Wherever that may be. He didn't even know where to begin when looking for home and it probably meant he'd have to ask for help, but who in their right mind would help Arthur get home when his Father was out for the blood of sorcerers.

Getting to his feet in hopes of finding someone to talk too, he realised that his walking stick was nowhere to be found, even when he checked his tent it wasn't there. Which meant it could only be in one place and as his eyes fell upon the tent, his heart sank. Emrys wouldn't be happy to see him. After this morning, Arthur hadn't seen the man lurking around at all which meant he was probably hiding in his tent, where his walking stick waited for its master to retrieve it from.

_Don't be a wimp._

Gathering his courage, Arthur walked slowly towards the tent and ignored the looks of the camp mates as he passed. Yes, it probably did look weird that he was going to see Emrys since no one ever did. Yes, the fact a Prince was seeking out the most powerful sorcerer was rather odd. However, he needed that walking stick if he was going to get back home tomorrow. His legs may be strong but they wouldn't last all the way. When he stood in front of the tent he took a pause and then called, "Emrys?"

No response was given.

Frowning in annoyance, he didn't wait and pushed back the tent door to see the lights come on upon someone's arrival. Which meant the sorcerer wasn't home. Perfect. He could slip in and out without Emrys knowing about it and luckily his walking stick was right where he'd left it. Crossing the distance to pick up his walking stick, Arthur felt a small ounce of regret that Emrys wasn't here, so that they could work out their differences before he left. He doubted he'd get a chance to see the sorcerer again.

The moment he went to leave the tent however, a loud crash sounded behind him and he turned to see Emrys lying on the floor. Well he hoped it was Emrys, the person was definitely wearing his cloak and they appeared to be breathing heavily. "Emrys, you alright?" Arthur asked and slowly approached him, putting his walking stick on the table so he had both hands free. "What happened?"

Instead of Emrys looking back at him, there was a woman, a beautiful one at that. She had long, dark, brown, curly hair and her eyes were the deepest shade of brown Arthur had ever seen. Her skin was tanned and the clothes she wore beneath the cloak were well used, like those belonging to a servant. As she pushed herself to her feet, she made sure to move away from Arthur as she took in her surroundings, the hood of the cloak falling off as she looked at how high the tent was. "Who are you? Where's Emrys?" Arthur questioned.

"I was just taking a walk in the woods. Looking for some flowers. I live here, well not here here, but my tent is just down the hill. I didn't think anything of it when I went for the walk, no one was around and it seemed safe enough. Suddenly these knights appeared, dozens of them, out of nowhere! I ran as fast as I could, knowing I couldn't go back to camp incase they followed me and suddenly this cloak surrounded me. Next time I opened my eyes I was here, talking to you."

"Which means Emrys is out there … unprotected …" Arthur ran from the tent on suddenly strengthened legs and sought out the elder, hoping she knew what to do. The woman, whoever she was, followed after him just as quickly and he soon found the elder talking to Morgana nearby. "Something's happened-" he was silenced when her hand came up and she helped Morgana get off her lap. The little girl running away happily without being told why she had to go "-There are knights on the boarder of the camp."

* * *

He breathed heavily as he leant back against a tree, the knights slowly approaching the other side as they looked for him, knowing that he no longer wore the cloak that would protect his identity. The woman had been so close to being hit that he'd had no choice but to throw his cloak over her, unbeknown to all that it protected whoever wore it from attack and with a quick spell he'd sent her back to his tent. Now he just had the problem of getting rid of these knights. There were so many and he knew he could take them down, except he'd have to reveal himself in order to do so.

_You can't._

"Emrys is near," came a woman's voice and Emrys frowned. A woman was with the knights of Camelot? Uther would never allow that to happen. As he peered around the tree, he saw a woman that had long blond hair, thin brown eyes, pronounced cheekbones and a long face. She wore a long dress that trailed behind her, her walking graceful and the large staff she held in her hand glowed the more she went forward. "As are the other sorcerers. Spread out."

Staring at the staff in her hand, he didn't have to be a genius to work out that she was using it somehow to locate people with magic, but it had to mean she was a sorcerer herself. Had Uther gone so far as to use the people he hated most in order to find his Son? "Come out Emrys, we have much to talk about, no harm will come to you." He didn't believe her. Why should he? "If you do not come out I won't tell you how to stop the ball of fire heading right for your camp."

She didn't need to say another word, he was gone before she could round the tree he was hiding behind and he appeared in the middle of the Druid camp. Most people already on their feet as the knights surrounded them, all holding swords and threatening to kill them if they did not surrender the Prince. Emrys looked around for Arthur, spotting him over with the elder as they talked, neither noticing what was going on around them. "Get in your tents!" Emrys ordered and the kids went first, the older sorcerers protecting them with their bodies as more knights appeared.

"_Onhéaw_!"

The sound of the spell left most of the sorcerers lips as the knights swung their swords, no longer having the patience needed and Emrys saw the woman from earlier helping one of the younger kids get into their tent. Running over, he took the cloak without asking and had it on within moments. He ran around whilst sending out protection spells around his people, telling them to get into their tents where they would be better protected. The knights quickly discovered that they couldn't enter the tents and if anyone entered, they'd be unreachable.

Hearing the sound of something coming his way, Emrys looked to the sky to see the ball of fire the women had been talking about. It wasn't exactly small either. Big enough to take down a wing of any castle if it wanted too. Knowing they had mere seconds, he brought his attention back to the camp to see only two people remaining. Arthur and the elder. He was attempting to help her back to her tent, but with her blindness slowing them down and his weak legs, they weren't going to make it before the ball hit and Emrys presumed the knights wouldn't be hurt when the ball hit.

"Arthur!" Emrys yelled and ran towards them, picking up speed as he went. The Prince turned to look at him and then his eyes widened when his gaze went past Emrys to see the approaching fireball. If Arthur died, then Camelot would never allow sorcerers to live peacefully among them since it was magic that killed their beloved Prince and Uther would claim it was their way of sending a message. Little did they know it was their King who had sent a sorcerer to do his dirty work. "Get inside the tent!"

He reached them a second later and spun on the spot, his hands already raised in front of him. "_Clústor_," the spell was yelled from his lips and a barrier surrounded the three of them. He held his hands firm as the ball put more pressure against the barrier, apparently the woman behind the spell was powerful herself and wasn't giving up without a fight. "Go …" Emrys hissed at Arthur who had covered the elder woman in hopes of protecting her. "You'll be-" he felt his body tense as the magic within him struggled to keep up the spell "-safe."

Arthur ushered the elder woman inside the nearest tent and then turned to look at Emrys, "You too."

"I have to stay out here and keep the barrier up, get your royal ass inside." Emrys dropped to one knee and ignored the taste of blood now dripping from his nose to his lips, his body telling him to stop.

"You don't need to be the hero here, you said we're safe inside the tents right? Which means if you get inside then you'll be fine too." Arthur appeared beside him and rested his hand on Emrys' shoulder, holding him steady as he began to sway. "You're not alone in this."

"The tents aren't protected Arthur," he said between gritted teeth and noticed the knights approaching the barrier which had been made just for stopping the fireball.

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.

"It doesn't-" he took a deep breath as the heat intensified "-matter. Go now! That's an order your majesty!" Emrys didn't give him a chance to argue as he sent a wave of power in his direction and Arthur was thrown into the tent. "Stubborn prat," Emrys muttered and was surrounded in fire a moment later.

* * *

What Arthur didn't expect when he was thrown into the tent was to find himself surrounded by trees and people. No evidence of a tent ever being there. He didn't have time to wonder what was going on since two sets of hands pulled him up and he noticed one of them belonged to the woman who had started this whole mess. "Where are we?" Arthur asked as they began to drag him through the forest. "Where's Emrys? What happened?"

"Be quiet Pendragon or you'll get us all killed," hissed Modred who appeared at his side and hurried ahead to walk with Morgana who he spotted amongst the other children. Arthur remained silent for the rest of the journey and saw that they were approaching a cave, a large one at that. Entering quickly, he saw small balls of light floating in the air and it reminded him exactly of who he was with. Sorcerers. So why hadn't any of them stayed behind to help?

"Where's the elder? I need to talk to her."

"I'm right here, keep your voice down." She fell back to walk beside him and he noticed how she didn't seem to have trouble walking around in here. "What's the matter?"

"Haven't any of you noticed that Emrys isn't here? He saved all your lives and not one single person tried to help him." He didn't know why he was getting upset over this. He barely knew Emrys and the one time they'd spent together, he'd ended up being transported from the tent. Wait … that was it. Somehow when he'd been thrown into the tent, he'd been transported here, wherever that may be. He had gotten them all to safety by transporting them all to another place. How could one person have that much power and still do what he did? "We should go back and check he's alright."

"He'll be fine, he's a tough young lad and a powerful sorcerer." She replied calmly and he was pulled down another tunnel towards a deeper part of the cave. Why on earth were they here? "Emrys wouldn't be taken down that easily."

"You didn't see him. There was blood running from his nose, he was on his knees trying to hold that barrier up and there is no way he got into a tent in time. He could be seriously hurt, do none of you care?" He looked around and saw none of them met his eye, "He's probably saved all your lives time and time again, you ungrateful people. The least you could do is go back! You're sorcerers aren't you? There's a reason my Father fears you. Use whatever power you have and help someone who has never asked for any. Don't hide away and be pathetic. That's what cowards do."

"And you're any better?" Someone spoke up and Arthur looked in their direction, "You have the power to change this. You could stop your Father from having people like us killed and yet you do nothing. We have a cave to hide in whereas you have a castle, you have no right to judge us." Everyone fell quiet and all eyes turned to the Prince who no longer was being restrained. Anger rippled off him like waves and even Morgana didn't dare approach him.

"I'm going back for him. Anyone who want's to join me is welcome."

**

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Omg guys, thank you SO much for the reviews! I didn't expect to get so many all at once. It was definitely a nice surprise when I walked out the cinema to find I had loads of emails waiting for me.**

**I'm not sure whether I like this chapter or not ... I might change it if people agree it doesn't fit in with the story.**

**Hope you enjoyed it and please keep reviewing =] It's something that cheers me up whilst in the middle of my exams.**


	7. Helping A Friend

**Helping A Friend**

* * *

Emrys first became conscious when he could smell something burning all around him, he feared for a moment that it was him but the cloak around him eased his mind. No harm could befall him whilst in the cloak. Pushing himself slowly from the ground, he wiped the blood from his nose and prepared himself to face the knights that no doubt had him surrounded. However when he was stood tall and with his hand raised, he found himself alone. Not a soul insight. Frowning in confusion, Emrys dropped his hand and turned on the spot, his eyes seeking out any nearby abnormalities. He found none. The only difference was that the ground around him was burnt and the tents had been turned to ash. Where was everyone?

Suddenly feeling a surge of magic, he sent up a shield around him and turned to the source. It was that woman again. Except this time she was alone and the staff wasn't in her grasp. "Hello Emrys, I'm surprised you lived after being directly hit by such a powerful spell." Emrys didn't reply, why bother, she would just come back with a snide remark anyway. She clearly had no idea who she was facing and how much power he truly possessed. He had only looked like he was struggling earlier due to the fact he had to keep up a teleportation spell at the same time as holding up a barrier, both hard tasks after sending spells in all directions against the knights. Now he had neither to deal with, he felt as strong as ever.

"I can't believe Uther would hire a sorcerer to look for his Son," Emrys commented as his feet began to move him sideways, mirroring every step the woman took. "He _despises_ magic. Enough that he'd let his Son die rather than use it himself."

"Who says I was working for Uther?"

"The knights-"

"Bandits with an illusion spell cast over them, you saw what I wanted you to see, that is all." She casually strolled over to a nearby tent and her hand brushed against the material, feeling the last remains of the spell last used there. "Clever little thing aren't you-" it was a statement not question "-not even I would have thought you'd teleport them away so easily and quickly. You must be a truly powerful sorcerer to possess such strength. How long have you been practicing?"

"I believe I'm what someone calls a warlock," Emrys replied and the woman laughed under her breath.

"Of course. Makes sense."

"Why did you attack this camp? They are like you. Are you searching for the Prince?" Emrys asked and a warning bell went off inside his head. Someone was crossing over one of his protection fields that would alert him if anyone entered the camp grounds. "You won't find him."

"No, I don't suppose I will." She looked over his shoulder and a small smile appeared, it was enough to make Emrys look over his shoulder. Nothing was there. Turning back to face the sorcerer, he tried not to panic as he saw she had moved to stand right in front of him and his wrist was now grasped in her dainty fingers. The grip tight and strong. "This was never about _him_. I just wanted to get your attention and see how powerful you are. I have highly underestimated you," her face neared his own and he told himself that she couldn't make out his features. It was darker now and his hood would create a shadow over his face. "Join me. Together we could take Camelot for our own and make Uther pay for what he did to people like us."

"Sorry, I don't do well working with other people." Emrys replied and pushed her away, however the grip around his wrist tightened. "Release me or i'll be forced to make you."

"You _will_ join me Emrys. Kid yourself all you want but your hatred for Uther will not remain hidden, someday you'll want revenge and when that day comes, I'll be here. Until then, I leave you with a small gift." Emrys had no time to react as he felt her power surge into him and his entire body suddenly felt very weak, like he'd had some life drained from him. "I will see you soon."

And then she was gone.

* * *

The plan had just been finalised on how to go about defeating the knights when a sound echoed through the cave as someone entered. Everyone around him stopped their spells and the lights went out in hope of hiding themselves. Arthur on the other hand moved away from the group and towards the tunnel where the enemy would have to walk down to pass them. However when he heard the person struggling to walk quietly, he peered around the corner to see the figure holding onto the wall as they walked, each step seemed more difficult than the last.

"Arthur, who is it?" Morgana tugged at his leg and at the sound of someone talking, the figure straightened up. Enough for the light from outside to show an outline of the person wearing a cloak. Only one man he knew wore something like that.

"Emrys!" Running forward, he reached the man within seconds and checked him over for burns. There were none. "Are you okay?" However before he could answer they were surrounded with the camp members and each of them thanked Emrys for what he did, all giving excuses why they couldn't help. Emrys simply stood there and Arthur wondered what expression he wore beneath his hood. Was he in pain or had he just brushed the whole thing off?

"Make way, coming through!" The elder yelled and pushed her way through the crowd until she reached Emrys. She cupped his face through the hood and stared at him intently, whispering quietly enough that it couldn't be heard over the other conversations being had by everyone else. Arthur tried to lip read what she was saying but more and more people were pushing him away. If only he had his sword, then he'd show them exactly who they were pushing around. "Everyone, we're staying here for the night and we'll head back to camp in the morning. Start setting up some beds. Go, now!"

Arthur twirled around on the spot as people rushed past him, no one daring to argue with the elder and soon he was left with just the two of them. "That includes you sunshine," the elder told him with a teasing tone and he crossed his arms in defiance.

"I'm not going anywhere, not until I know Emrys-"

"Arthur go," Emrys spoke up for the first time and for once he didn't sound as strong as usual. The way he stood wasn't as tall as it had been when everyone had been around and Arthur wasn't forgetting the way he'd walked into the cave. "Don't make me tell you again Pendragon."

Growling inwardly, Arthur walked away like a toddler throwing a tantrum and went to see if he could help anyone. At least that way he would be useful.

* * *

Staring out at the rain falling outside, Emrys dropped the hood from around his head and took in a breath of fresh air. He'd spent most of the evening talking and helping the elder organise things in worry that she'd hurt herself in these tunnels, however she seemed to cope just fine. Eventually she'd told him to go do his own thing and he'd straight away sought out the exit, finding the confinements too much for him. He'd spent so much of his life living outdoors that the idea of being constricted to a small area was almost scary to him. There was no way of defending yourself. Nowhere to run. It would be like being a trapped animal.

Feeling his skin crawl, Emrys pushed back his cloak arms to see the mark that had been left on his skin by the woman, whoever she had been. He'd tried every spell he could think of to get rid of it, to rid himself of whatever spell she had cast, but nothing worked. He was meant to be the most powerful sorcerer in the land and yet he couldn't do this one little thing? Something was going on and he didn't have his books to go through. One of them was bound to have the answer. At least tomorrow he could get to them, hopefully before his body gave out on him, every moment that went by was another moment his body weakened from the spell cast upon him.

Resting his head back against the stone wall, he tried to ignore the feeling of impending doom and prayed that his tent had remained protected during the attack. It had been far enough away from the fireball to get damaged but there was always the chance the 'knights' had gone into it. He couldn't even remember whether he'd put up a barrier before he left that day. What if it was all gone though? His note. All his belongings. Everything … _gone_.

"There you are!" Arthur's voice echoed down the tunnel and Emrys groaned inwardly. Did that man have no observation skills? He wanted to be left alone. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Well you've found me," Emrys replied bitterly and moved his head away from the wall. Looking at the approaching Prince, he saw there was a huge smile on his face and as he stood in front of him, Emrys knew whatever he was about to say couldn't be good. "Well?"

"I got us some beds next to each another, if you can even call them that. The elder was going to stick you with this other bloke but I thought you'd appreciate being near someone you at least talked too. You're in the far corner and only have me near enough to bother you." Arthur sat down by his side and threw up a stone to then catch in his hand.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm happier here."

"_Try_ and be a little more sociable would you? It's not going to kill you. All the kids are asleep now and the older people are too. It's just us younger lot awake. We're playing some games to pass the time. Come and join us, it's fun."

"Who would have thought-" Emrys started and smirked "-Arthur Pendragon having fun with sorcerers. The King would have your head if he knew."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Arthur commented and Emrys noticed him looking at his hands. That was the problem when someone found out about the symbols, their curiosity got the better of them and eventually they'd get consumed with determination to touch them again. "You going to explain to me why you flipped out in your tent this morning? I didn't mean to drop the note and touching your hand just … happened."

"Last person who just _happened_ to touch my hand ended up dead. It's better if you pretend you never saw them, understood?" Arthur gave a small nod and Emrys got to his feet, flipping the hood back on.

"You know, that hood just makes you look intimidating. Why don't you relax and just look normal for a change?" Arthur said as he joined Emrys in standing and the Prince took a step back as Emrys glared at him. He had no idea what he was talking about. The torment Emrys had been through in his younger years because of his scar, how he couldn't reveal himself to anyone in fear the King would know his identity, he'd lived his whole life on the run because of people like Arthur and now he dared tell him to relax?

"If you had the history I had Pendragon, you'd wear a cloak too."

* * *

Glancing over at the area where Emrys was, Arthur tried to ignore the feeling that he should say something, anything to mend the rift that had suddenly been created earlier. They had walked back in silence, Emrys didn't even meet his gaze when he walked off towards the bedding area, he didn't even ask where they were sleeping. Instead he'd left Arthur alone with the other people who were awake. All of which weren't much company in the mood he was in.

Telling them he was going to bed, he walked to where his bed was set up to see that Emrys was sleep in the bed next to him, like Arthur had told him. Smiling that the sorcerer hadn't fought him on that, he climbed under the blankets and turned to face Emrys' way. He appeared to be sleeping but then again, how much could you tell from a persons back? Emrys was even wearing his cloak in bed.

"Bet you find this horrible in comparison to your luxury bed," Arthur commented and heard a small snigger coming from the supposedly sleeping man.

"I've slept in much worse conditions Pendragon, believe me." Emrys rolled over to his delight and without thinking, Arthur pushed back his hood so he could make out the features of his face. The light coming from the balls of light floating around the place now coming in useful. "How is the royal highness coping? Managing to ignore the bugs that could be creeping around in here?"

"Don't remind me," Arthur muttered and rolled onto his back. Putting his hands beneath his head, he stared up at the ceiling and wondered what else could live in these caves. "So what happened back there? Last thing I remember seeing is that fireball on a one way course directed at you."

"Surprisingly enough, I can cope with things like that. It's said that I'm a powerful warlock." Why did some doubt come across in that last bit? "Don't you worry about me. Besides, you'll be gone tomorrow. No longer will I have to think about where you are incase I have to save you."

At the sound of his departure tomorrow, Arthur frowned and turned over onto his stomach, not wanting to look at his surroundings anymore. Then a smile came to his lips. "So you do think about me then?" He teasingly asked and noticed Emrys look away from him, apparently finding the floor oddly fascinating. "It's not a crime to care about someone you know," he commented and reached out to playfully tap Emrys on the nose. To which he became cross eyed in an attempt to look at the end of his nose. "I didn't put anything there Emrys. I was being playful. Has no one ever done that to you before?" All emotion drained from his face and Arthur sighed as the sorcerer turned his back to him, going back to his attempts to fall asleep. "Oh come on, I was just asking. Stop being touchy about every single little thing I ask."

Shuffling over, Arthur grabbed Emrys by the shoulder and pulled him down so he was lying on the floor. His wide blue eyes staring up at him. "You do realise who I am don't you? You can't just treat me like … like …" Emrys trailed off as he tried to think of a word.

"A friend?"

"I am not your _friend_," Emrys said firmly and crossed his arms. Arthur couldn't help but laugh, it was cute how he was trying to act so tough yet somehow came across as being adorable instead. "Besides, you're the Prince. Even if I wanted to be your friend, which I don't … it wouldn't be possible. One day you'll be King and just like your Father, you'll execute people like me. I'd be surprised if I didn't find wanted posters with my face plastered all across the Kingdom the day after you return."

"You think so little of me? Don't you trust me enough that I won't reveal who you are and what you look like?"

"I don't trust anyone Arthur," Emrys whispered.

* * *

What they had both failed to realise was just what they looked like to the watching figure of Morgana. She had slowly walked over to Arthur's bed as she woke up from a nightmare, only to find that her Prince was hovering over Emrys and had his hand playing with the string that held the cloak around the sorcerer which rested around his neck. If she didn't know that Emrys didn't like anyone, she'd say they were a couple, especially by the way Arthur was looking down at him. Morgana was gone before another word was passed between the boys and she went in search of the elder to comfort her. Arthur was preoccupied at the moment.

* * *

Emrys wasn't sure how long he talked to Arthur. He wasn't even sure what they had talked about. None of it had been meaningful and it could have passed between total strangers. However, it was something he'd never forget and always treasure. Arthur treated him like an equal and for once someone had talked to him about random things, rather than just magic or protection. Emrys could have sworn they'd even got onto the topic of favourite food before the Prince yawned and apologised.

It was enough to snap the sorcerer out of what was going on and he realised Arthur had ended up leaning his upper body against the side of Emrys' chest, his hand casually trailing across the small bit of flesh exposed at his neck. What on earth was this? He didn't let people touch him and he certainly didn't want the Prince thinking he could do whatever he wanted. "I think we should get some sleep," Emrys muttered and Arthur let out a noise of agreement, yet didn't move. "That means moving over to your own bed Arthur."

"I'm going to miss my radiator though …" Arthur replied and Emrys let out a laugh. The first real laugh he'd let escape in decades. The shock of what just happened went through the sorcerer and he covered his mouth to stop himself from making a sound, except the Prince grabbed his gloved hand to stop him. "You should laugh more often, it's cute, makes you appear more human."

"And what, I appear like a beast the rest of the time?" Emrys questioned as his laugh died down.

"Only some of the time," Arthur winked and moved over to his bed. Holding the blankets up around his neck to keep the warmth in.

"_Hæte_," Emrys said the spell before he could stop himself and Arthur relaxed as the warmth surrounded him. The Prince looked over at him softly and smiled his dazzling smile that would weaken anyones heart. "Just didn't want to hear you shivering all night, that's the only reason I did it." Emrys made up an excuse and rolled over, staring at the wall. The emotions running through him confusing him enough that he knew it was going to be one long night.

**

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Thank you so much for the reviews and I hope I cleared up that (as someone guessed right) 'Morgause' wasn't actually working for Uther and why Merlin struggled with the barrier spell. I also apologise for spelling drawer wrong … my bad.**

**We got a few tender moments in this chapter with the boys so I hope you enjoyed that.**

**Keep reading and review if you enjoyed! It's something nice to read in my breaks between revision and exams.**


	8. Defying A King

**Defying A King**

* * *

"Emrys?" A soft voice broke his concentration from his books and he slowly turned his head to look at the woman now entering his tent. She appeared cautious and only entered enough so that she didn't have to stand outside, her hands grasped in front of her. "I just thought you should know, not that you need to be told anything because you're you, but just incase you didn't know, Arthur's about to leave."

"Thank you…" Emrys tried to remember her name but couldn't remember her ever telling him.

"Gwen," she finished.

"Thank you _Gwen_. I will be out shortly."

She gave him a small smile and ducked back out of the tent, leaving Emrys in his little fort of books. At first he'd just put a pile beside him, hoping the answer he sought lay in one of them, nevertheless the hours had dragged on and he'd eventually found himself surrounded in them. With no record of a cure anywhere. Even the spell didn't exist. Whatever that woman had done was something that either belonged to the old religion or she'd discovered another way. Considering he knew most spells that the old religion had created, it meant he'd have to use other means to find out how to cure himself.

He was getting weaker every moment that passed. When he'd woken up this morning in the cave, his body had been cold and it had been difficult to even make it back to his tent. Now that everyone was back, he remained hidden in hopes of finding the cure before Arthur left, apparently fate had other ideas. Sighing inwardly, Emrys used a pile of books to rest his weight on and pushed himself to his feet. His entire body complaining at the strenuous task and as he took his cloak off the hook, every muscle ached even if they weren't being used.

Slipping the cloak on, Emrys grabbed the walking stick that Arthur seemed to constantly leave behind and he used it himself for support. Making his way out of the tent, he walked down the small slope that lead to the base of the camp to see a swarm of people surrounding the Prince, all telling Morgana to let go as she clung to him after obviously receiving a hug. However as the crowd noticed him, their conversations died down and only Morgana could be heard complaining when he finally reached the two of them. "Morgana, let him go."

"No! He said he'd take me to Camelot which means I'm going with him." Morgana said firmly and her grip tightened. Arthur on the other hand looked at him with desperation as he held the little girl, not wanting her to fall but knowing he couldn't take her with him. Who knew the Prince had such a soft spot for children. "Go Arthur! Before he stops us!"

"You can't go with him Morgana. It's too dangerous. We can go and visit him another time," Emrys tried to give her a positive idea about what would happen if she let go. She didn't. "Am I going to have to force you to let go young lady?" He deepened his voice and when she glanced over her shoulder she saw him standing tall, his hand beginning to outstretch with the threat of using magic to get her to let go. She didn't need telling again, Morgana released the Prince and dropped to the ground, immediately seeking out the elder who had already said her goodbyes. "Can you not do anything right?"

"Apparently not," Arthur brushed off his clothes and his gaze dropped to the walking stick Emrys was using. "Planning on using that yourself or can I have it back?" Emrys threw it at him a second later and ignored the pain shooting through his legs of having to stand by themselves. "So, will you really come and visit me in Camelot?" Arthur asked.

"You know I can't. Unless you've forgotten, magic is strictly prohibited and anyone caught using it will be executed. I'm sorry, but I like having my head attached to my body." Going forward, Emrys held out his gloved hand and attempted a smile that he knew didn't quite reach his eyes. "Take care of yourself, I don't want to have to save your life _again_, it's such an effort."

Arthur took his hand and shook it firmly, holding onto it longer then a casual handshake should. Neither man wanting to let go quite yet. "I'll try my best. You too, don't get killed doing something heroic okay? There are plenty of other people out there who can help, it doesn't just have to be you all the time, you hear?" Emrys nodded and released his hold, feeling the energy in his body beginning to fade quickly. Arthur needed to go. _Now_.

"Goodbye Arthur," Emrys now said softly and Arthur's grip around the walking stick tightened.

"Goodbye Emrys." Arthur waved at the surrounding sorcerer's and then turned to leave, never looking back at the people who had treated him like family for over a week. When his silhouette vanished through the fog, everyone remained silent and then began to get on with their daily chores.

* * *

Gwen stood by Emrys as the Prince walked away. She could tell that he wanted to go after Arthur, especially by the way he held his hand out a little in his direction, reaching out to a person who was no longer there. "You'll see him again," Gwen tried to comfort him and moved to stand in front of him. Expecting to see an expressionless face like usual beneath the hood, she was surprised to find him looking paler than usual and his face showed that he was in pain. "What's wrong? Emrys, are you alright?"

Suddenly the sorcerer fell to the ground in a pile and she yelled his name as she fell to his knees beside him, her yell loud enough to grab a few peoples attention who were nearby. They all surrounded the fallen man and Gwen pushed back his hood even though she knew he'd hate her for it, his identity was a secret for a reason. However everyone here was family and no one would betray him. She hoped. "Emrys, can you hear me?" She questioned as she cupped his face, his eyes wide open and staring up at the sky.

"What's happening?" Came the elder's voice through the crowd and Gwen put her hand to his forehead, he was burning up.

"Something's wrong. His pulse is racing and I've never felt anyone this hot before, he's not responding to me … what's happened to him?" Gwen asked as the elder knelt by her side and put a hand to his forehead, whispering a few words of magic before she frowned.

"A curse is upon him. Quickly, take him back to his tent with the help of these two," she pointed to two men standing behind her. "Be gentle and don't touch anything in his tent, when he gets through this he'll be pissed enough we went in there, I don't want to have to face him if we've messed up his things. Am I clear?" A resounding agreement came from the three of them and Gwen held Emrys' head steady as each man lifted one side of him. The cloak now left on the ground as they carried him to his tent. It wasn't like he needed it anyway.

* * *

The journey back was more tiring than expected and by the time Arthur made it into the main hall, he could barely keep his eyes open. However when his Father lifted his head from looking down at a huge map on the table, Arthur felt relief to be home overwhelm him and it was a matter of seconds before he was being pulled into the King's arms. "I'm so glad your safe Son," Uther told him and pulled away a little to study him, "Where have you been? How did you get back?"

"I was captured by slave traders and escaped when-" he paused and remembered the look on Emrys face when he'd said that he expected Arthur to betray him "-someone inside the cell helped me. I stayed with them until I was able to travel and here I am."

"It's a miracle, I've had men searching for you since you went missing and haven't slept a wink. Infact I was just talking to the council," he motioned to the men stood around the table, "about entering Cendred's land in hopes of finding you. Now we don't have too." A small pat on the shoulder was given and Arthur was left standing there as the King moved away, "You should go and rest my Son. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

Not really understanding him, Arthur brushed the comment off and excused himself, looking forward to sleeping in his own bed for once. Even when his body crashed onto the bed, he still felt tired and cold. Who knew traveling for so long on foot could make you feel this … drained. Not bothering to change, he kicked off his boots and slipped under his covers. The moment his head hit the pillow he was dead to the world.

* * *

Arthur entered through the side door quietly, knowing that he was late for a meeting with his Father and he hoped that his miraculous return would be enough of an excuse. He only realised what was going on when he saw that they weren't alone. In fact, most of the guards were there and a tiny person was hunched over on the floor as Uther glared down at them. Another sorcerer had been found? Already? This had to be some new record for his Father.

"Why did you come here? What are your intentions?" A small sob came from the sorcerer and Arthur took his seat, hoping not to get involved. He didn't feel right being here and watching someone who was just like the people he'd stayed with be sentenced. "Who taught you magic?"

"No-one," came a pained voice and Arthur's hair stood on end. He knew that voice. Praying he was wrong, he tried to appear casual as he got to his feet and walked over to the side in order to see around his Father. "I was born this way."

"Liar!" Uther struck them across the face and Arthur's heart dropped at the sight of Morgana lying there in pain. What was she doing here? "Did you come here to destroy Camelot? Who are you working with? Tell me!"

"Father, she's just a little girl." Arthur spoke up now and those two green eyes he had never wanted to see in pain looked up at him. Morgana had a bruise on her cheek where Uther had struck her, the chains around her wrists made her skin red and she looked like hell. When had she gotten here? "She hasn't had the chance to learn magic. Why would you think-"

"She appeared out of thin air," Uther said and flicked his hand. A knight pulled Morgana gently to her feet and it was obvious they did not agree with Uther's treatment. "Just after you left last night, she appeared in the middle of the hall, claiming that she needed to see you. Don't let her looks deceive you, she's powerful and has every intention of harming you. Consequently ruining Camelot's future. Take her back to the cells, this afternoon she'll be executed for her crimes, burnt at the stake ought to sound out a firm message to anyone watching with the same idea."

"Arthur!" Morgana screamed as she was carried out of the hall and Arthur rounded on Uther.

"She's just seven years old, you can't have her burnt at the stake, she hasn't done anything wrong. Let me talk to her, see what she wants, maybe something happened-"

"Something happened? What could have possible happened that meant a _sorcerer_ had to come and talk to you? Maybe they have finally seen sense and want to hand themselves in." Uther walked over to his throne and took a seat. "She's a sorcerer Arthur, we have laws for people like her."

"Well, maybe our laws are wrong," Arthur said firmly and stormed from the room.

* * *

"She should be back by now. The spell worked, enough of us were channeling to her, what if Uther caught her?" Modred whispered and Emrys opened his eyes, wondering who they were talking about. "Morgana isn't like the rest of us. She can only heal other people. There's no way she can defend herself against Uther and his men."

"What did you do?" Emrys managed to say and he saw the elder next to Modred. She looked grim.

"It doesn't matter sweetie, go back to sleep-"

"You sent Morgana to Camelot … why?"

"Arthur might know people who could get the word out about your condition, someone might know the cure, we had to try." The elder said and brushed the hair from his face, "You'll die soon if we don't get help. You're getting weaker by the second. It's only a matter of hours before your body gives up."

"That does not mean you send a little sorcerer into Camelot to reach a Prince that can't do anything right." Emrys pushed himself up from the bed and his body wavered as dizziness washed over him, the elder put a firm hand on his shoulder to keep him up. "Where's my cloak? I need it."

"You're not going anywhere in your condition. You can barely stand, what makes you think you can get her back? You're not immortal Emrys," she said quietly and Emrys smiled at Modred as he was handed his cloak. With the help of the two of them he slipped it on and pulled the hood up around his head. "This is a stupid idea Emrys. You could get killed."

"Morgana is not going to get herself killed because of me. Be ready for when we get back … I doubt I'll be conscious." Emrys vanished before another word could be spoken to convince him to stay.

* * *

"Arthur! ARTHUR!" Morgana screamed as she was carried up onto the platform and tied to the stake. Arthur looked at his Father who showed no expression. How could he do this? Just kill a child without even showing an inch of remorse. "Let me go! Arthur!" His eyes closed briefly as he heard her scream his name and he turned his back to the ground below.

"Father, this is a mistake."

"She is a sorcerer Arthur. People like her plot against us, want to take Camelot for their own, she's already getting to you, imagine what she'd be like as an older woman. She'd have you eating out of her own hands by now. No, this is the right thing to do."

"No, it isn't. She's-"

"Emrys is dying!" Morgana now screamed and Arthur spun on the spot to look down at her. Her black locks fell around her face as she hunched over the rope around her waist, the scream taking a lot out of a small person.

"Who's Emrys?" Uther frowned and didn't notice the pale expression on his Son's face. "People of Camelot, I stand here-"

"He has a matter of hours! I can't heal him Arthur. _No one_ can. He needs you," Morgana said and Arthur's heart sped up as she met his gaze, judgement now filling her eyes. She hadn't looked at him like that when he'd stood there and let her be sentenced, it was only when he didn't immediately ask about his friend that hatred began to loom in those green eyes that had once looked at him with such adoration. "Emrys _needs_ you."

"Who is she talking about Arthur?" Uther demanded to know and turned to look at him. All eyes were upon him and he found he didn't care. Somehow he knew something had been wrong. Emrys had been too eager to get rid of him yesterday morning and after the way he walked into the cave, it should have clicked in his mind what was going on. "Arthur, respond."

"Let me talk to her," Arthur replied and looked at his Father. "Please. Emrys is … an old friend. If she knows something about him-"

"She's lying Arthur, can't you see that? She's using your relationship with this person to stall. Sorcerer's will say anything to use you. She is no different." Uther faced the people and began to make his usual speech about the fight against magic. Arthur on the other hand stared at the little girl who no longer yelled, she just looked at him, waiting for the Prince to do something. Anything.

It was only when Uther raised his hand to light the fire that Arthur acted. He ran from the balcony and through the castle, taking the stairs two at a time to go faster and by the time he reached the courtyard he was praying he wasn't too late. Morgana couldn't die like this. Not after everything they'd been through to get out of that slaver trader's cell. Pushing open the door to the courtyard, he felt his heart sink as he saw the fire rising around her, her tiny body coughing from inhaling the black smoke. "Morgana, I'm coming!" Arthur yelled.

Except someone beat him to it.

Just as he took a step forward to go and save her, the fire suddenly vanished, causing the people of Camelot to back away in fear. Arthur on the other hand stood still as he gazed at the cloaked figure he'd seen there once before. He stood as he normally did, tall and strong. Even as he flicked his hand to rid Morgana of the ropes around her body, he didn't waver and when she grasped his hand, there was no look of pain at being touched. Had Morgana really been lying?

Emrys turned his head to look at the King through his hood. Uther glared down at him in hatred and then a small smile appeared on his lips as he saw a small pool of blood dripping from the sleeve of the cloak. "You are surrounded and have no means of escape sorcerer, don't try to fight or risk causing yourself further injury."

"Emrys-" Arthur began.

"You should be _ashamed_ of yourself Pendragon," Emrys yelled and Arthur shivered as he knew the words were really directed at him. "After everything … every …" his words failed him as he fell to one of his knees and Morgana clutched his arm, whispering to him as he knelt there. Arthur was already moving forward through the crowd and jumped onto the platform, kneeling down in front of Emrys.

"Are you okay?" Arthur asked quietly and reached forward, his hand gently resting against Emrys' cheek under the hood where his scar lay. "Emrys, look at me, please."

"You were going to let her die," Emrys muttered.

"No! I was just going to save her before you turned up. Now stop avoiding the question, are you dying?" Arthur repeated and Morgana gave a small nod, then suddenly she whimpered. Arthur looked up to see a dozen knights surrounded them. All with swords pointed at the two sorcerers. "Leave-"

"Don't," Emrys stopped him speaking and Arthur was shocked to find a gloved hand covering his own on Emrys' cheek. "You'll be in even more trouble if you started defending us. This already looks bad enough," a thumb gently caressed Arthur's wrist as Emrys guided his hand away and the loss of contact made his heart ache. "You have the makings of a great King, Arthur."

"Seize them!" Uther's voice said from the balcony and Arthur got to his feet, already drawing his sword in order to protect the two of them. Except he needn't bother. Both of them were gone in the blink of an eye and instead there was a huge pool of blood where Emrys had been kneeling.

_He has a matter of hours_

**

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Thank you for the reviews again! It was something nice to read when I got back from an economics exam this morning.**

**I'm sorry if this chapter was a bit … bitty. If that's even a word XD I just wanted it to be quick and dramatic to give the effect intended.**

**Please review and hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	9. Draining A Life

**Draining A Life**

* * *

Gwen stood by the elder, waiting for the arrival of Emrys, hoping that he had made it in time. They both knew there had been a chance Morgana would get caught, that Uther would have her killed within the next day, but the little girl had said she'd go. She was the only one Arthur would listen to and she could be in and out without anyone noticing. It had been a complicated spell to get her there, it had taken all the magic in the camp to send her and they began to realise just how truly powerful Emrys was afterwards. He'd transported the entire tribe, could vanish whenever he pleased and didn't show any signs of being tired. Was there nothing he can't do?

"I hear something," the elder whispered and suddenly a crash came from the other side of the tent. Running over, they found Morgana wrapped in Emrys' arms as they lay amongst some broken pots, neither moving and both appeared lifeless. At least until Morgana began to stir and she pushed herself away from Emrys. "Are you alright child?"

"I'm fine. Help him, we barely made it here. It's taken us ten attempts to reach the camp and every time he lost more blood, I don't think-"

"He'll be fine," the elder lied and flicked her hand. Gwen watched in amazement as Emrys was lifted into the air and floated over to his bed. He didn't awaken once. "Gwen dear, fetch me some cold water and a towel, he's running a fever." As she gave a small nod and went to head outside to get some water, she glanced back to see Emrys' forehead being stroked affectionately. The elder was whispering to him, what she said Gwen could not hear, except she could see that a look of worry covered the old woman's face. They could pretend he was fine, treat him like he was simply ill, but in the end this would all result in Emrys dying.

* * *

The doors slammed behind Arthur as he was forced to enter the throne room where his Father waited. After Emrys had vanished into thin air, the knights had been ordered to seize him and bring him here. Now they stood alone and Arthur could feel the pull of needing to get back to the Druid camp. Morgana had been telling the truth, Emrys was dying and nobody there could help him. Arthur might not be able to cure him of whatever was killing him but at least he'd be there, Emrys wouldn't have to die alone.

"Can you explain to me, Arthur, why I had to watch a sorcerer vanish before my very eyes when my Son was close enough to capture him? You even touched him Arthur, like you knew him, what kind of King will you be if you behave like this? I have never been so embarrassed, ashamed and mortified all at the same time. You tell me you were captured by slave traders, but how do I know it wasn't sorcerers who caught you and are now using you like a puppet-"

"Father," Arthur said firmly and the King turned to look at him with a stern expression. "I cannot explain what happened, neither do I want too, all I do want to do is leave. I have-"

"What you have to do is learn the difference between right and wrong. I taught you to kill people like them, to protect the people of Camelot and become a King. Have you forgotten all of that? You act as if you don't care anymore."

"Can we talk about this tomorrow? I have some things I need to do."

"Yes, we _will_ talk about this tomorrow. I need to fix this mess and have search parties out looking for those two sorcerers." Arthur was about to thank him, say that he was grateful for the time to think and that he'd return early tomorrow. Except Uther summoned the knights back in and then sighed, "I'm sorry to have to do this Arthur. You leave me no choice." His attention was back on the knights, "Take him back to his chambers and make sure he doesn't leave them until I call for him. Understood?"

"What-" Arthur was grabbed by the arms and was forcefully lead away from the King "-No! Father, you can't do this, I need to-"

"You need to learn there are consequences for your actions." The doors shut and Arthur tried to fight the hold on him, but his body wasn't back at full strength yet and it didn't take much to lock him in his room. Banging against the door with his fists, he demanded to be let out, telling them that he was their Prince and he'd have them killed if they didn't. Nothing happened. Arthur was being treated like a kid and was locked inside a room with no way to reach Emrys. He wasn't going to make it in time before his friend died.

* * *

Emrys didn't bother opening his eyes, he didn't want to see what was going on anyway, it would just tell him how terrible he looked. All he could feel was how tired he was and a roaring heat that seemed to move through his body like a bug. He knew there were people near him, talking to him, telling him that everything would be okay. Emrys wasn't an idiot though. It had been a mistake to go and get Morgana, to put his body under so much strain. However it would be a mistake he'd make again. She had been so close to dying for him, if he hadn't turned up when he did, she would have died from inhaling too much smoke. Now she would live a long healthy life, as long as she didn't get caught again.

"Is there anything we can do for you Emrys?" Gwen asked softly and brushed back his hair. He didn't respond. How could he? There was nothing they could do to ease his suffering. Even he couldn't work out how to do it and he was more powerful than all the sorcerer's in this camp put together.

"He's fading fast …" he heard the elder whisper and her hand gently rested on his shoulder. "We should make him more comfortable. Help me take off his cloak would you?" Emrys moaned as they pushed over his body a little to pull the cloak out from under him.

"What about his gloves?"

"Those too."

Emrys felt a soft hand take the end of his glove and he somehow found the strength to pull it away, anger surging through him at the thought of someone using him. His history now fresh in memory, the magic that remained in him unconsciously shoved the two women away, protecting him from prying hands.

"How is he doing that? He can barely move."

"There are some things that not even I understand my dear. Emrys is a puzzle and I doubt anyone could find out just how much power is in him. It's better we let him rest. How about I make us a hot beverage? It's quite cold today."

Finally Emrys was left alone and his body relaxed into the bed, his thoughts the only company he had as he lay there. When he thought about the life he led, how many lives he'd touched, it was a small comfort that at least he'd be remembered a little. However there wasn't anyone he could think of that would remember him for being … him. All the people who had known him as a child were now dead, the elder may think she knew him but she only saw what he wanted her to see and the sorcerer's in the camp were all afraid of him.

Somehow he'd always known it would turn out this way. That one spell would be too much for him and he'd die alone, he'd just always thought he'd have a little more time. If he had known that this was where his life would end, maybe, just maybe, he would have let someone in.

* * *

Arthur paced around in his room, trying to think of someway of getting to Emrys, except all his options led to him falling out a window and plummeting to his death. Growling for some strange reason, Arthur tried to knock on the door again, to get the attention of someone who could help him. Yet the more he banged his fists on the wood, the more hope slipped away from him. How could he have let this happen? He shouldn't have let Emrys leave in the state he'd appeared in. He should have saved Morgana sooner. Arthur should have done anything to make sure this didn't happen.

Right, he had no choice. Plummeting to his death was the only option. Going over to his cupboard, he pulled out some rope he knew the servants kept in there for some reason and carried it over to the window. Throwing it out once he'd tied one end to the bed, he looked down at the drop and felt the nerves beginning to get to him. "Come on, you're the Prince, you can do this. It's easy. Just a little drop."

Climbing out onto the ledge, he tested the ropes strength and when the bed didn't budge, he took a deep breath to calm himself down. He just had to keep reminding himself why he was doing this. It was for Emrys. Deciding that he'd turn back if he waited another second, he leapt off the edge and began sliding down the rope slowly, the burns on his hands from the rope being ignored. It was nothing compared to what Emrys was feeling.

Only when his feet were set on the ground did he feel relief wash over him and he ran towards the stables, having every intent of stealing a horse. He refused to run all the way to the Druid camp, he'd likely kill himself in the process. So finding his fastest horse, he saddled it up with ease and lead it from the stable so he could mount it outside. As he glanced back at the castle, he saw a light in his room go on and he felt his heart beat faster. That was quick. When he saw a knight peer out the window and spot him, he knew it was time to go.

Signaling for the horse to go, Arthur held onto the reins as the horse picked up speed, trying to ignore the warning bell that had sounded back at the castle as they carried on. He knew there would be hell to pay when he got back, but it would be worth it. Emrys was worth it. As the horse galloped through the forest and towards the Druid camp, Arthur prayed that he'd get there on time.

* * *

Morgana watched as Modred twirled a stick in midair, his eyes never losing focus and the spell had meant to impress her. Except all she could think about was Emrys. After everything he had done for them, there was nothing they could do in return, even she hadn't been able to heal him with her touch. The elder had told her it was because she was too little but she knew it was a lie. Emrys was past being helped. He was too far gone and nothing they did would change that now. All they could do was wait for his passing.

"Would just stop it!" Morgana exclaimed and the stick fell to the floor as Modred frowned at her. "There is a man dying and you're acting like it's just another night in camp. Don't you care he's dying? He saved your life!"

"I can't mourn a man I don't know."

"Are you that heartless?" She got to her feet and kicked him in the shin, "You're an ungrateful little brat who didn't deserve to be saved if that's the attitude you have towards the man who saved you." Morgana turned with every intention of walking off when she saw Gwen leave the tent, tears running down her face as she walked back to her tent, not meeting a single gaze as she went. Next came the elder who looked as sad but did not cry, she simply walked down to talk to the people.

"He has a matter of minutes and in respect I would like those minutes to spent in silence."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Morgana asked and went to stand in front of her, "A spell to ease his pain."

"He is in no pain dear. If anything, I've never seen him look so peaceful. He is surrounded with his own possessions and knows that he's done well in life, that's all anyone could ask for." Morgana could tell once again someone was lying to her. Emrys didn't think he had done well in life. No one could if they had never been loved like they said he hadn't. "Take a seat Morgana and let us pray he has a safe crossing to the other side."

* * *

Using what little strength he had left, Emrys reached sideways and made the drawer open so he could reach his note. His body was weak and he had only moments left, but he'd be damned if he didn't read the note one last time. As his hand shook, Emrys lifted the note from the drawer and turned his head, his eyes taking in the words his Mother had once written to him.

_To Merlin,_

_Gone out to buy some bread. Be back soon._

_Love Mum x_

At least now he could see her again. He could run into her arms, tell her how much he loved her and how he had never meant for her to get hurt because of him. She would tell him it wasn't his fault but he was older now and knew better. Everything had been his fault. His village being attacked had been his fault. Now he would face them all and have the chance to apologise. At least one good thing came out of this.

It was funny though, as he read his name over and over again, he couldn't remember when he had started referring to himself as Emrys. When he had started using that name, even in his mind he saw himself as Merlin, now that person didn't exist. Maybe if this hadn't happened, if things had gone different, he could have started using his real name again.

For some reason, the image of Arthur came into his head and he smirked as he remembered when he'd gotten so mad at Arthur for almost losing the note. What would it be like for Arthur to call him by his name? He could imagine that his name would just roll off his tongue, Arthur would pronounce the start of it with annoyance when he got mad and it would be the sweetest sound to hear whenever they were together. He couldn't deny that he had wanted to stay with Arthur in his final moments. Truth be told, he had almost sent Morgana back without him. Rotting away in Camelot with Arthur was better then dying alone here.

His body suddenly shuddered as the last part of the spell was done and Emrys' last breath left his lips as the note fell from his hand.

* * *

Arthur saw the Druid camp ahead and urged the horse to go faster, Emrys couldn't have long left. It had taken him an hour to reach the camp at full speed and he still felt it wasn't fast enough, the minutes had felt like hours themselves. The protection spell that had been around the camp was no longer there, not that Arthur would notice and he passed through it's old resting place with ease. The caster of the spell no longer able to keep up the enchantment.

He leapt from his horse when it became difficult to move through the tents, his feet carried him forward and Arthur ignored the pain in his legs from suddenly being used. As he reached the center, he saw that the people sat around their fires, nobody spoke a word and all looked at the ground in silent prayer. He felt his blood turn cold as he saw the sadness across the elders face, Morgana cried into her shoulder and all she could do was rock her back and forth. He couldn't be too late. Arthur always managed to fix things at the last minute. This wasn't happening.

"Arthur," Gwen sat a few meters from him and he looked down to see her haunted expression. "I'm so sorry-"

"No! I'm not too late!" Arthur went to pass her but she got to her feet, a soft hand pressing against his chest in little resistance but it was enough to stop him. "Let me pass Gwen. I can save him. _Let_ me save him!"

"Even the Prince can't bring someone back from the dead," she whispered and glanced over her shoulder at the dark tent where the body lay. "You're too late. He is gone." A small tear escaped her eye and she wiped it away, turning her head as she did so. Arthur didn't bother to reply as he walked past her, making his way up to the tent where Emrys had once shared a bed with him, talked to him, had a drink with him, shared a light conversation that Arthur doubted he'd done with anyone else.

He stumbled over an abandoned log for a fire and as he rightened himself, Arthur tried to imagine that this was just some trick. Emrys was seeing how they'd react if he 'died' and then would laugh at them all, it was as simple as that. Yet as he pushed back the tent door and saw that no light came on, he couldn't help but know what he was going to find instead.

**

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Reviews dropped for the last chapter but I don't mind =] To every single person who did review I am SO grateful for them. They keep me going and it's nice to hear what people think.**

**Yet again I leave you on a cliffhanger, whether Emrys lives or dies … hmmm, we'll see. Depends where I want to take the story XP**

**R&R and please don't hate me for killing him!**


	10. Seeing A Memory

**Seeing A Memory**

* * *

Every step closer towards where he knew Emrys lay was another step that made his heart break. The sorcerer had ended up dying alone, without anyone to tell him that he'd be missed and that a lot of people were alive today because of him. Arthur included. So as he pushed back the drape, he kept his eyes closed to prepare himself, there was no point denying that Emrys was dead. He could tell himself that everything was okay but in the end, he'd still have to face up to the fact that Emrys was gone. No one would ever have the chance to hear his goofy laugh or talk to him again.

As if sensing he needed someone, a tiny hand slipped into his own and he opened his eyes to look down and see Morgana at his side. There were tear stains down her cheeks but she kept an expressionless face, being strong for Arthur's sake. Inwardly thanking her, Arthur went to the side of the bed and finally looked at the cold body lying there. He didn't know what happened first. His legs giving way beneath him or the tears that were running down his cheeks. All he did know was that he was now knelt on the floor beside the bed and he couldn't stop the tears from flowing as he looked at Emrys. It almost looked like he was just sleeping.

For some reason, Emrys was facing his way with his hand outstretched, as if asking Arthur to take it. The Prince reached over and grasped the hand firmly, desperately wanting the sorcerer to squeeze it back. He couldn't explain why he was feeling what he was. Arthur had barely known the guy, the only time they had gotten on was when they'd been hiding out in the cave and he suspected Emrys' guards had been down due to how his body was feeling. Would he have acted like that if he was his usual strong self? He doubted it.

"He wasn't in any pain," Morgana told Arthur quietly and he looked in her direction to see she had climbed onto the bed. She now had the man's head in her lap, her tiny figures stroking his hair like a mother would and the sight brought more tears to his eyes. No one had dared approach him when he was alive, so why was it that when he was dead, they showed how much they cared and treated him like family? It wasn't fair. "Arthur," she got his attention again, "he was happy to see you one last time before he …" she couldn't seem to finish the sentence.

"How do you-"

"When he took me away from Camelot, it took a long time to get back to camp as he couldn't move us the entire distance in one go. On one of the breaks, he was smiling to himself and I asked him what was wrong. He said nothing was wrong and that he was-" she paused and smiled at Arthur "-he said he was happy that he'd met a prat that would protect someone like him against his Father. That was the last thing he said before he took us back to camp, after that, he didn't speak a word."

"You idiot," Arthur muttered to Emrys and gently ran his finger over the gloved palm. "I owed you my life. I wasn't about to let anything ... happen …" His voice trailed off when in the corner of his eye he saw a small bit of parchment on the floor beside him. Picking it up, he couldn't help but smile at the note, it seemed no matter what happened, Emrys always needed to read the note. Now he would never know who this Merlin guy was who apparently meant so much to him. Maybe in another lifetime he was Emrys' partner. "Can you give us a moment alone Morgana? I need to say … goodbye."

Morgana gently lay Emrys' head back down on the pillow and left them alone, he could hear her crying the moment she left. Arthur fought the urge to go and comfort her, instead he set the note on the bedside table like Emrys would have wanted. "I don't understand why I feel the things I do for you," Arthur admitted and his eyes fell to their joined hands. "I've spent my entire life around my knights and yet I feel closer to you then I do any of them. They see the Prince, you see … well apparently you see a prat." A small laugh left his lips and he sighed, what was the point in saying these things, Emrys couldn't hear him.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here."

Arthur glanced at the sorcerer and then smiled, "I suppose you won't get mad if I take this off." Gently pulling the leather glove off his hand, Arthur turned it over to inspect the symbol he knew was there, except this one was different. Wondering whether he'd seen it wrong, he reached over and took off the glove on the other hand. That was the symbol he recognised. So why was this one different? The one he'd seen in the past had an open eye in the middle, this one had a closed eye, the spirals curling inwards rather than out. "I guess we'll never know what these were," Arthur commented and took his hand back into his own, "Thank you for saving me Emrys. I'll never forget-"

His words were lost when a familiar bright light surrounded them and he looked down to see the markings had moved onto his own skin. This time Emrys wasn't around to stop what was happening.

* * *

At first it was just light surrounding them, all of a sudden images began to appear and Arthur looked out into a room he didn't recognise. It was a small room, one that barely fit a table inside and a couple of seats, yet it had the feel of a home. He watched as a small boy ran into the house with what looked like a tiny bird in his hand and he looked around, eagerness on his face. "Mumma, I found an injured bird outside. We should look after it!" He yelled and got no response, a tiny cute frown appeared before he set the bird in a bowl that was on one of the surfaces. That's when he saw a small note on the table.

His point of view changed and it was like Arthur was the boy, staring down at the note he had read once himself. It was the note Emrys kept with him. Except this version was brand new and the ink was still wet, the departure of the Mother only just recent. So this was Merlin. He was looking back at the boy again who put the note in his pocket and went over to look down at the bird, his smile returned. Why did he recognise that smile? "Mumma will be back soon. Then we'll fix you and get you home. That sounds good right?" It was like he expected it to answer.

The images began to blur and Arthur blinked to find himself in the same place but it was dark outside and the boy was sat on one of the chairs with his knees brought to his chest. His eyes wide and fearful. Glancing around himself, he saw the bird was gone and there was still no sign of the Mother. What was going on? His question was answered as the door was kicked open and two large men entered the room, each with swords in their hands. For some reason they acted like the boy wasn't there. Instead they began searching through the cupboards and whenever they found something of value, they threw it into a bag.

It was only when they found a ring did Merlin react and he screamed, leaping from his seat to snatch it from the man's hand. Now seeing Merlin, the guy grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him from the ground. "Where did you come from?" He asked coldly and Merlin struggled against his hold, determination to get free evident. "Answer me boy."

"Let me go!"

"Hand me that ring first," the other man demanded and the little boy clutched the ring in his hand. He couldn't be more then Morgana's age and he was standing up to these two fully grown men? He was braver then Arthur had been at that age. "Give me the ring!"

Merlin screamed as they tried to rip it from his grasp and the men suddenly flew through the air as an invisible force hit them. The boy didn't wait, he ran from the home and outside. Only instead of seeing his village, all he could see was fire and people fighting. Arthur wished he could protect him as the men from before appeared and he was grabbed again, this time however they weren't going to be nice. Merlin was punched in the stomach and the pain was enough to make him drop the ring, the man scooped it up to put with his collection.

"I think this boy needs to be taught a lesson," one man said.

"I couldn't agree more." The larger of the two lifted Merlin's head from the ground and glared down at him, a sinister smile on his face as he brought out a small sharp knife. "This is for daring to fight back." Arthur felt his heart still as the knife was lifted to Merlin's face and the boy screamed in such pain as they sliced down the side of his face, it was only because his eyes were shut that he wasn't blinded from the wound. The man laughed as blood spilled down the scar and he went to do a matching one on the other side when someone tackled him, forcing him away from Merlin.

As the boy clutched his face, the woman who had saved him was thrown to the ground with the man now straddling her, a look of pure anger on his face. There wasn't time to stop him from picking up his sword and plunging it straight through her chest. Killing her instantly. "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Merlin screamed now and the man turned to see him glaring at him. Arthur had never seen such anger come from one person, especially from someone so young and if he could he would have moved away. The man for once was sensible and moved away, slowly backing up along with the surrounding men.

Merlin moved over to where the woman lay and gently placed a hand on her face, staring down at the wide open eyes filled with pain. "Mumma?" He whispered quietly and Arthur's stomach turned. The woman had been his Mother? The one he'd been waiting for. "Mumma, please don't be dead. I'll be good. I promise. No more magic, they won't come back again. Mumma?"

"Looks like we have a mumma's boy here lads," one man dared to speak up and suddenly the world went quiet as the little boy got to his feet. A dark aura surrounded him and he didn't even move as the fire around him began to grow on the buildings, the bandits now all had swords in hand to defend themselves. "What's going on?"

Arthur watched as the boy with blood running down his face lifted his hand and pointed it towards the men, a second later all the fire from the village shot towards them with such speed there was no way to avoid it. The men hadn't stood a chance. When the fire had passed over them and vanished into the distance, all that was left were ashes. Ashes and the bodies of the village people littering the ground. Merlin on the other hand just stood there, his hand still extended and his body standing next to his dead mother.

He knew who the boy was by the way he looked now. There was no emotion on his face, the blood had turned his clothes dark and he held himself like he knew no one could hurt him. Merlin wasn't just anyone. He was the very person his Father feared the most. Merlin was Emrys.

* * *

The symbol moved back to the sorcerer's hand and Arthur was brought back to reality, the realisation that Emrys wasn't who he said he was fresh in his mind. It meant that no one truly knew who he was. Not even Arthur. He had suffered enough that he trusted no one, loved no one, never let anyone see what was beneath the surface and Arthur couldn't help but feel incredibly sad for him. What was it like to have a life so horrible that you couldn't be yourself?

Still clutching his hand, Arthur pushed himself up onto the bed so he was sat beside the body and gently put his free hand to his cheek. "I'm sorry for your loss. It wasn't right what happened to you." Running his finger down the scar he now knew had happened in the most horrific moment of his life, Arthur lowered his head and rested his forehead against the sorcerer's. "You didn't have to be like this you know? There are so many people around you that could support you, love you, be with you when you're sad or lonely. You didn't have to be Emrys." When no response came like expected, Arthur sighed and moved away. "I'll never forget you Merlin."

Without warning, the hand in his own grew all of a sudden very hot and Arthur ripped his hand away to see the symbol had its eye wide open. The eye glowed and Arthur watched as something moved beneath Merlin's skin on his arm, moving straight towards his hand. Taking a step away from the bed, he saw whatever it was reach the symbol and it became larger as it pushed against the center of the eye. Before Arthur could do anything, a small rock broke the skin and landed on the bed. The light that had been in the symbol now gone and it was like nothing had happened. Silence just followed.

Moving closer to the bed, he bent over and looked down at Merlin. Nothing happened. He remained dead and the tiny stone by his side looked like an ordinary stone. For some brief second he had hoped that it would be enough to bring the man back. Apparently not. "So much for miracles," Arthur muttered and turned to leave when a huge gasp of air being sucked in sounded behind him. Turning, he saw Merlin lying there and breathing heavily, his eyes wide open.

Springing into action, Arthur sat back down on the bed and cupped the man's face, staring down at him firmly. "Take deep breaths. In," he breathed in himself and he smiled when Merlin copied. "And out," both breathed out and Arthur tried to ignore the flutter in his stomach as Merlin grabbed his wrist with his bare hand. Not even noticing his gloves were off. "In again," he didn't bother to carry on after that since Merlin appeared to have calmed down and instead they just stared at one another. Barely believing what was going on. "Welcome back," he said softly.

Merlin smirked and gently caressed Arthur's wrist with his thumb like he had done back in Camelot, "Miss me?" He had no idea how much Arthur would have missed him.

"As if I'd miss you. My life was so much easier before you came into it." They both laughed quietly and only when the laughter died down did Arthur take a deep breath himself. Closing his eyes, Arthur tried to stop the relief from overwhelming him, but it was too late. The tears were running down his face a moment later and the fact Merlin pulled his head down against his chest so he had some support didn't help, especially when he felt fingers running through his hair. "Only an idiot would get himself killed," Arthur tried to lighten the mood.

"Only a prat would go against the King to protect a sorcerer," Merlin replied and Arthur laughed lightly through his tears. It was only when he saw the gloves resting on the bed beside Merlin did he realise that the symbols had stopped doing … whatever they did. Arthur still didn't fully understand that. "Are you alright?" Merlin asked.

"I'm meant to be the one who asks you that," he commented as he pushed himself up and wiped the tears away. "Why aren't your symbols working?"

Merlin glanced down at his hands, "Sometimes they do that. It's easier to just keep the gloves on incase they decide to act up." Arthur moved away a little as Merlin pushed himself up and he leant back against the now propped up pillows that Arthur was quick to help with. "What happened then? Last thing I remember was … well the whole dying thing."

"I guess all it took was a Prince to touch you to bring you back," Arthur teased.

"I know you think you're powerful and strong, but you're not that strong. How'd you manage it?" Merlin asked with curiosity and Arthur handed over the small stone by his side. The sorcerer studied it quietly for a few minutes and then put it on the bedside table, "I'll look at it later. At the moment it just looks like a stone to me."

"Well if anyone can figure out what it is, you can, _Mer_lin."

**

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THANK YOU for all the reviews. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Of course I brought Emrys back, but now that Arthur knows that he is called Merlin, I'll refer to him as that =]**

**R&R and keep reading ;)**


	11. Without A Gift

**Without A Gift**

* * *

Merlin looked at the Prince with wide eyes as his old name was used. No one knew that name. Well, apart from one person, but he was unlikely to tell Arthur and he had no idea Arthur even knew him. "Don't need to look so horrified that someone knows your name," Arthur commented and tapped him softly on the nose. "It's not like any harm can come from it."

"How?" Merlin asked with a cold tone and this caused a frown to appear on the Prince's face.

"Your symbol fired up, the one with the eye closed, saw what I presume is a memory." Merlin went to ask which one when Arthur lightly trailed his finger down the scar he knew ruined his face and he knew instantly which memory he'd seen. "I thought I told you to stay away from my hands."

"I didn't think they'd act up again. You were dead Merlin, stone dead, not even on the brink of death. Next time you die, I'll remember not to touch them, okay? Of course, I'm not going to let you die again." A determined expression crossed his face and Merlin melted inwardly, no one had ever looked so protective over him apart from his mother. "Next time you feel like you did, tell me alright? Would save us a lot of trouble if I was already here Mer-"

"_Stop_ calling me that. My name's Emrys, need me to spell it out to you? E.M.R.Y.S." Merlin turned his head away and glared at his feet.

"More like I.D.I.O.T." Arthur muttered and was suddenly grabbed by the scruff of the neck to be pulled close to the sorcerer who had been dead only a few minutes ago.

"Don't think that just because you did something to bring me back, it means you can do anything you want. I can still send you back to your Father in the blink of an eye or have you killed without moving. You can act all strong and powerful, but at the end of the day you're just a Prince who has found something that fascinates him. One day you'll get bored and I'll expect Camelot's knights to start searching this place for me."

Arthur shoved Merlin against the chest so he was lying down on the bed and glared down at him, "You think you're just something that fascinates me? That I could toss you away like you mean nothing? I went against my Father, the King of Camelot, to get here. I climbed out of my bedroom window, galloped across leagues and I haven't even gotten a thank you yet. Instead you threaten to send me home or kill me. Ask yourself this, Merlin. Is it that you're afraid that someone might care for you or that you might care for someone other than yourself because it means you could get hurt? Well guess what, I do care what happens to you and I have a hunch that you care about me too."

"You don't know anything about me so don't presume to know how I feel," Merlin replied bitterly and tried to push Arthur away. Except it was like pushing against a brick wall. Impossible. "I don't care what happens to you. I feel nothing for you. To me you're just another person I've saved, that's all." So why when he said those words did it feel so far from the truth?

"Then kill me," Arthur whispered quietly so only Merlin could hear and his hand tightened around the cover he held beside them. "If you don't care what happens to me, kill me. If you think that one day I'll turn against you Merlin, then just get rid of me now so you can rest easy at night-" Merlin went to say he would anyway since Arthur wasn't a threat but the glare in the Prince's eyes stopped him "-do it now so I know that the words you speak are the truth."

"Or I can just send you back so your Father can do the job for me," Merlin replied and the word of the spell he needed ran through his mind. However, instead of the Prince finding himself facing an angry King, he remained hovering over him. Frowning in confusion, Merlin tried again and nothing happened. "_Geleórednes_," Merlin now said loudly and grabbed Arthur by the arm so the magic knew where to go. No magic went through him and the two men remained together. "What did you do?"

"I haven't done anything."

"What have you done?" Merlin launched himself at Arthur and tackled him so their heads were now at the foot of the bed. "You took my magic didn't you? Is that how you brought me back-"

"Merlin, I haven't-"

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

"You need to calm down-"

"No, what I need to do is show you exactly who you're messing with." Merlin grabbed him by the arm and rolled over, throwing Arthur over him with a lot of effort so he landed on the ground. The Prince was quick to get back to his feet and put a hand out to warn Merlin off as he climbed from the bed. Merlin having every intent to kill the Prince for taking his magic from him.

"I'm not going to fight you Merlin," Arthur said softly and it was almost enough to make Merlin stop. Almost.

"Then sit back and enjoy getting beaten to death."

"What's going on here?" Morgana was suddenly by Arthur's side and looked between them in worry, the shock then registered across her face as she saw Merlin up and about. "Emrys! You're alive! How? Why are you looking at Arthur like you're going to kill him?"

"Because I am." Merlin took a step forward so he could throw a punch but the little girl stood between them with her arms outstretched, "Get out of my way Morgana."

"No. This isn't you Emrys. You don't kill people, especially those who you care about-"

"Would everyone stop going on about me caring about people. I don't care about _anyone_. I _never_ have and _never_ will. Arthur especially. If you're not going to let me kill him, get out!" Merlin was yelling now and the other two backed away towards the door, "Now!" The final word was enough to get them both to leave and Merlin grabbed a nearby chair in an effort to hold himself up. He didn't have any magic. He was … normal. Something he had always wanted to be when he was little. Dreamt of being since his mothers passing. It would have saved so many lives if he was normal.

And now it was happening, Merlin couldn't fear anything more than what was to come.

* * *

Riding into camp days later, Arthur leapt off his horse and was greeted with Morgana who jumped up into his arms. "Welcome home!" Morgana exclaimed and he couldn't help but smile. She was right, this place was feeling more like home every day he came back. "We didn't think you would come, it's almost time for our evening meal."

"I'm sorry Morgana, my Father has decided my punishment should be to train harder than ever and live without a servant, it means it takes a lot longer to get away from the castle. I've told him I'm on a hunting trip though so I can stay here for a few more days." Setting her down on the floor, he was greeted by other people, including Gwen, and then glanced towards a specific tent. "How's he doing today? Any better?"

Gwen glanced over her shoulder and sighed, "Yesterday he actually came out for a meal. Today he's gone back to smashing things and yelling at anyone who bothers him. We don't know what to do Arthur, after all, none of us know him." She picked up a bowl of soup and held it out to him, "Maybe you could convince him to eat something? He's wasting away in there."

"I'll give it a try," taking the bowl from her, Arthur smiled in gratitude and walked past her. Slowly heading up the hill, he winced as he heard something smashing into pieces and wondered what he would find. He had left for home the day after Merlin had come back, saying he needed to speak to his Father and get things straightened out. He'd returned the next day and Merlin had refused to talk to him. For the past week he'd been going back and forth, Merlin hadn't spoken a word on any of his visits. Now he'd given an excuse to be here a few days he'd make it his goal to get him speaking. Hopefully eating.

"Arthur!" He heard Gwen yelling his name and he looked back at her, "Be careful yeah? He could do anything." Arthur nodded and pushed back the tent door, her words not worrying him. Merlin wasn't at all threatening without magic. He was just another person who didn't stand a chance against Arthur. However, saying that, when he looked inside he saw that most of Merlin's possessions were smashed and all the books he owned lay out across the floor. Arthur could barely see the ground. As he looked further into the tent, he saw Merlin sat on the floor with his cloak on, reading a book intensely.

"Merlin," he said his name to let him know he was there and instantly the ex-sorcerer tensed. Yet he made no effort to acknowledge his presence otherwise. "Gwen gave me some soup to give you, apparently you went out yesterday…" he glanced at the table to see a full bowl of food. "You have to eat Merlin." Picking up a few of the books along the way, Arthur set them and the bowl on the table. "Come and eat."

Of course he was ignored again and Arthur picked up a few books, setting them on the table to get them out of the way. He kept doing this until he reached where Merlin sat. Crouching down, Arthur grabbed the top of the book he was reading and pulled it away. "Stop reading and eat something. Don't make me make you." Instead of doing as he was told, Merlin turned to read another book, ignoring Arthur completely. "Right, that's it."

Hooking his arms underneath Merlin's arms, he pulled him to his feet and began to lead him to the table. At least that was the plan until Merlin made himself go limp and Arthur was forced to hold his entire weight. "Merlin!" The man didn't let up and Arthur ended up throwing him back to the ground in anger, receiving a moan in response as Merlin smacked his head against a book. "Serves you right. Now, are you going to come eat or are we going to try that again?"

"_Piss off_," Merlin replied and pushed himself up. "I don't need a royal prat telling me what to do. I've taken care of myself most of my life and that's not going to change anytime soon." He pushed his hood off and glared at Arthur, "Thanks to you I have to find a way to get my magic back. You should have just let me die."

"I didn't do anything. Maybe if you ate something and relaxed, you'd have a clearer mind. You've clearly not slept and after what you've been through, I'm surprised you aren't dead again." Arthur offered out his hand and smiled encouragingly at him, "Let me help you."

"Why? Feeling guilty for taking my magic?"

"I didn't..." Arthur moaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was getting them nowhere. "Do you want me to get the elder in here? She isn't as lenient as me." Merlin was on his feet a second later and suddenly swayed from the quick movement. Arthur was there with his arm around his waist to support him. "See, you do need someone."

"Doesn't have to be you," Merlin muttered and was soon sat at the table. He looked terrible to be honest. There were dark circles under his eyes, his skin was pale and there was no fat on his bones. Merlin was a walking corpse. "How was your Father?" Merlin asked and Arthur was shocked he was speaking that it took him a moment to reply.

"Better then expected. It doesn't matter, all that matters is that we get you back to your normal self. Now eat up," Arthur pushed the bowl in his direction and smile when he started eating. "Have you found out what the stone does?"

"All I've found out is the obvious. It drains the life of the person it's used upon and is broken when the person's name is said. Normally this isn't a problem and broken quite quickly, therefore it's not mentioned in a lot of books. However, because of my history … well, you know the rest." He put his spoon back in the bowl and glanced at Arthur, "Thank you. I know I haven't seemed grateful, but I know you were doing what you thought was right and one day I'll probably agree with you. So thanks."

"My pleasure."

* * *

Merlin pulled down the top of the cover and slipped inside his bed as Arthur went to get him some water for during the night. The Prince had stayed with him all through the evening and had only slipped out once to say goodnight to Morgana, how close the two of them were getting was honestly beginning to bug him. At first it had been sweet. Now he was feeling something that he didn't recognise or name. All he did know was the thought of Arthur spending time with her made his blood boil, what was worse was when Gwen came into the conversation or she popped in to say hello. The way she looked at him … it just wasn't right in Merlin's eyes.

Lying back in bed, he turned on his side and gently traced the symbol with the closed eye. With his magic gone, neither of the symbols worked and it had meant the gloves had been untouched for days. However the habit of not touching anyone still occurred and every time Arthur had come close, he'd put his hands behind his back. Merlin had always found it funny how his symbols never worked when he touched them himself. He could never look into his future or see into his past, only others who touched him got to reveal that.

"I'm back," Arthur announced as he entered the tent and Merlin shoved his hands beneath his pillow. The Prince passed under the drape and set the drink on the bedside table, looking down at Merlin with a soft gaze as he did so. "Now tomorrow you're going to eat all three meals, leave this damn tent and speak to other people apart from me. Sound like a plan?"

"Yes Sir!" Merlin replied and smiled. "Where are you sleeping tonight? Your tent is taken by Gwen last time I heard."

"I'm just going to share with her. There's no other free beds and the tent is big enough for the two of us." Arthur reached down and pulled the cover up around Merlin's neck like he was tucking in a child. "Sleep well Merlin." Merlin watched as he turned to leave and the image of Arthur sleeping beside Gwen entered his mind. The close contact. The darkness. The temptation to do more than talk. Before he could stop himself, Merlin brought his hand out from under the cover and grabbed Arthur's wrist. The Prince looked from the hand to Merlin, "What's the matter? Do you need something?"

Merlin's mouth opened to say something, to make an excuse for his actions but nothing came out, anything he said would make him sound like, dare he think it, a jealous lover. He wasn't though. To Arthur, he was just someone he wanted to help. They were barely friends. "Merlin?" Arthur tried to get his attention back and Merlin tightened his hold, causing the Prince to sit down on the edge of the bed so he wasn't bent over. "Use your words," Arthur teased.

"Bed," he managed to get out and a blush covered his cheeks a second later as Arthur laughed a little.

"Yes, I'm going to bed. You're in a bed. Bed's are fascinating."

"No, I mean…" How on earth was he meant to convince Arthur to stay without sounding weird? "You complained when you had to sleep on the hard ground. I might need you during the night to get me something and this bed is big enough for the both of us … you don't have to go stay in Gwen's tent." He didn't meet Arthur's gaze as he spoke and only when a hand covered his own did he look up.

"Are you jealous Merlin?"

"Jealous? As if. Just forget it, go to your cold tent and I'll see you tomorrow." Merlin shoved Arthur's hand away and rolled over, putting his back to the Prince. However instead of hearing Arthur leave, the bed dipped behind him and a hand came against his shoulder.

"Move over," Arthur murmured. He moved onto the other side of the bed but kept his back to the Prince, his heart pounding in his chest as the lights dimmed due to no one standing in the tent. Merlin clutched the edge of his pillow and stared out into the darkness. That last time this had happened, it hadn't been awkward and it wasn't now. There was another feeling the air.

Tension.

"What's with the cold shoulder? Here I thought you wanted me in here."

"I do. I just prefer sleeping this way," Merlin lied and was suddenly pulled onto his back by a firm hand on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Arthur on his side and smiling at him. Why was it that whenever Arthur smiled at him, Merlin felt like all his problems melted away? Arthur didn't even look at him differently since his magic went. He was just Merlin in his eyes. "You really like getting your way."

"Yes, but especially with you. There's this small line that appears," Arthur reached out and traced what Merlin guessed was the line on his forehead. "Just here. It's extremely cute and tells me I'm beginning to touch a nerve. Seeing as everyone says you're so emotionless, I find it quite an achievement in my day. Imagine if people knew you let me sleep in your bed, they'd have a field day."

"Well it can be our little secret."

* * *

**A soft chapter here. M&A needed a small break from the drama and Merlin needs a little time to heal. The magic has yet to return too.**

**Thank you sooooo much for all the reviews, the most yet for the last chapter.**

**My updates might not be every 24 hours for everyone like someone pointed out, but it's daily for me. Seeing as it's 11:50pm, I have 10 mins left of today. I would get it out earlier but at the weekend I do a lot of revision during the day for exams, weekdays it's the opposite. So tomorrow will most likely be a late update too. Sorry!**

**Hope you enjoyed and please review. If anyone has ANY suggestions for the story, send them my way. I have lots of ideas myself so people's opinions help.**


	12. Facing A Foe

**Facing A Foe**

* * *

Merlin opened his big blue eyes to stare at the sleeping Prince at his side. He found it odd that the idea of waking up beside Arthur seemed perfectly natural to him even though he would have now only done it twice in his lifetime. Not even when he was little did he wake up to someone by his side. His Mother had her own bed and kept a drape between them to give them privacy, he had often cursed that drape as it separated them. When she had passed, he made sure to always have his own bed and never slept in the same room as another. The man that had entered his life only a few weeks ago was changing so much in such a small time span. It was frightening in a way.

"It's creepy to watch people sleep," Arthur suddenly spoke up and Merlin smiled as his eyes parted to look back at him.

"You're one to talk, you did the exact same thing the last time you were here." Shoving him lightly in the shoulder, Merlin sat up in the bed and pushed the hair from his face. Only to have a pair of hands ruffle it up and he glared at the Prince now sat at his side, "What was that for?"

Arthur shrugged and reached over Merlin to grab the untouched mug of water. He downed it in one and Merlin's eyes dropped to his neck as he swallowed the huge amount. A hand unconsciously went to his own neck and he realised that his was tiny in comparison to Arthur's. The Prince was built up with muscle and strength. Right now, Merlin was pretty useless at everything. Without his magic, he couldn't do anything and it showed when he was compared to Arthur. "You alright?" Arthur asked with a concerned tone.

"Yeah," Merlin lied and Arthur was reaching out a second later. He put a hand against his cheek and turned Merlin's head so they were looking directly at one another.

"Don't lie to me, last time that happened, you died. If you think I'm going through that again, think again. Now, let me repeat the question, are you alright?" Arthur looked at him in such a way that Merlin felt his heart melting inside his chest. One day he would have to give this up. Arthur would have to return to the castle under the King's orders and never come back, leaving Merlin to be alone. He wouldn't usually complain, he had grown used to being alone and keeping things to himself. It was just nice to have someone actually ask if you were okay. "Merlin?"

Covering Arthur's hand with his own, Merlin gave a genuine smile in return and said, "You need to stop worrying about me. I'm fine. Not dying again, promise."

Then came a moment when Merlin thought all the breath left his body. Arthur moved closer and Merlin watched as his lips got closer to his own. He had no idea what the Prince was doing, well he knew what he was doing, he just didn't know why. So as Arthur got closer, Merlin's eyes widened and just when he thought his heart would stop dead in his chest, Arthur pulled him into a tight embrace. Neither of them were hugging kind of guys so both were a bit tense to begin with, however Merlin was the first to relax and he rested his head on Arthur's shoulder willingly.

"I didn't know the Prince could hug so well," Merlin teased when the silence dragged on.

"Don't let anyone know yeah? Otherwise I'd never get to leave this tent," Arthur replied and winked at him playfully as he pulled away. He moved off the bed a second later and adjusted his clothing so it was straight. "Fancy some breakfast? I'm sure Gwen and a few of the guys might like to join us. If you don't mind." Yes, he did mind, but he wasn't about to admit that.

"Sounds good. I'll meet you out there in a minute, just going to change into something."

"Don't put the cloak on!" Arthur yelled back as he left the tent and Merlin laughed inwardly. Of course he would be putting on the cloak. That wasn't going to change. Stretching his arms above his head, he closed his eyes and fell back against the bed. Today was going to be a good day. He could feel it. Somehow he'd find a way to get his magic back, Arthur was here to keep him company and help him, no one was trying to attack the camp. All was well.

So the last thing he expected to happen was to find Morgause smiling down at him when he opened his eyes and as he went to yell, her hand covered his lips forcefully. "Hello Emrys," she whispered and they were gone a second later. Not a trace left of either of them.

* * *

"Good morning Arthur," Gwen greeted as she left her tent and Arthur smiled in return. "I thought you were coming into my tent for the night? I got worried."

"I decided to stay with-" he paused for a moment and decided it best not to go spreading Merlin's name around "-Emrys last night. Keep an eye on him, you know?" She gave a knowing smile behind his back as he went to grab two bowls for breakfast. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I did. It was nice not to hear things smashing from Emrys' tent. I take it he got a goods night rest?" When Arthur nodded, she handed him two pieces of bread and then got one for herself. "Are you two going to be joining us for breakfast?" She nodded over to where her friends were waiting.

"I was hoping we could join you. Emrys needs to start socialising with people more and I intend to make it happen." He looked over at the group of men and smirked when he saw Lancelot watching Gwen through half dazed eyes. "Sure you don't want to eat alone with Lancelot?" Arthur teased.

"_Arthur_!" Gwen blushed and shoved the rest of the food on the two plates. "We're just friends. Just like you and Emrys," she moved away so he could walk past her to get back to Merlin's tent. "Make sure you come back out Pendragon. Otherwise we'll think you're up to no good."

Arthur nodded once more and walked up the hill to reach the tent. "I think Lancelot likes Gwen," Arthur commented as he went through the door and set the plates on the table. "They would make a good couple. She needs someone to look out for her." Standing straight, he turned to look at the closed drape and heard no movement coming from behind it. "You still changing Merlin?"

Walking over, he pushed back the drape and his eyes scanned the unexpected empty space. Turning on the spot, he looked around the rest of the tent and found the rest deserted. Merlin was gone.

* * *

"I didn't expect Emrys to be so _young_," Morgause commented as Merlin knelt on the ground in front of her. She'd teleported them somewhere he had never seen before and by the way it smelt, he could only presume they were near the ocean. Especially since he could hear the sound of what he thought were waves crashing against something. "Without your disguise on, you're not exactly intimidating are you?" She teased and Merlin kept his gaze down.

Without his magic, she could do anything to him and no one would know where he was. It was better to remain quiet and do what she asked. The moment he got his magic back, there would be hell to pay for taking him from his home. Usually it wouldn't be possible due to his barriers that normally surrounded the tent, but they went the moment his magic did, it was why people could come and go from it as they pleased.

"You might as well talk Emrys, we're going to be spending a lot of time together, we can't do that in silence."

"What do you want?"

"I want a lot of things," she replied and circled him slowly as her dark blue dress trailed behind her. "Mostly I want Uther to suffer and for Camelot to burn. However, I'll let you take care of that. First things first, I want to learn a little more about you." He tensed as she forced him to stand using magic and he looked at her head on. Merlin was afraid of no one. "How is life without magic?"

"You took it?"

"No, but you would have left by now if you had it, which means you haven't read everything there is to read about the déaþscúa stán." What she meant by that Merlin didn't know. Morgause smiled and gently brushed the hair from his forehead, "You really are a mess. I was expecting a wise old man underneath that cloak. You are said to have lived for centuries. How is it possible you look no older then your late twenties?" Morgause asked and when he didn't reply, a hard hand slapped him across the face. Causing his gums to bleed and he spat out the blood before turning his head back to face her. "How do you not age?"

"You believe everything you hear?"

"Of course not. However, the things you can do … they are not possible for someone as young as you look. It _would_ take centuries to gain the power you have. If you are young, then you have discovered a secret to gain power when those in the past have not. How do you do it?" Merlin remained quiet once more and she grasped his right hand where the symbol of the closed eyes rested. "If you will not tell me, you will show me."

"I will show you nothing."

"Oh Emrys, you think you have a choice?" Merlin looked down and the one time he needed the symbols to remain unactive, the closed eye came to life and the spirals began to head towards Morgause's skin. "Lets see what lies in the famous Emrys' past."

* * *

Merlin lay on the floor panting as Morgause ripped her hand away, her eyes out of focus as she got used to the darkness of the cave they were in and he slid across the floor to get away from her. She had held on too long for him to remain unattached to what he saw. Morgause had seen memories that had broken his very soul and reminded him why he hated the Pendragon's so much, why he'd spent his life without a family or home.

"Nothing!" Morgause exclaimed and came over to grab him by the scruff of the neck. "Why is there nothing in your past to tell me how you have such power?" She demanded to know and her body wavered. Little did she know that whoever touched his symbols lost energy by watching things they should not, Arthur hadn't been effected due to how little he had seen, Morgause on the other hand had looked at so much of his past that it was a miracle she was standing. "Tell me Emrys!"

"I don't think so. I think I'll do this instead," Merlin grabbed her wrist with his left hand and due to her lack of energy, she couldn't shake him off as the spirals left him. "Lets take a look at your future, shall we?" His surroundings went white and he kept a firm hold as he looked at the scene playing out before him.

He was looking at what he remembered as the throne room in Camelot, a lot of things had changed since he'd last been there and this wasn't too much in his current future. He knew this because he could see Arthur stood by his Father and he looked as he did now, the only difference was that he looked tired. From what, Merlin didn't know. There were knights lining the side of the room and he finally acknowledged that there was a cloaked figure stood in the middle of the room.

_No_.

Morgause, her future self, stepped out of the shadows and Merlin saw that she wore a small smile on her face. His future self dropped his hood and stared at the King who sat in his throne, a stern expression stared back at the sorcerer. "I do not understand," Merlin said to the King and his eyes drifted to look at Arthur. "You called-"

"He called because I made him call."

"Ready to apologise for the death of my people?" Merlin replied bitterly and the current Merlin frowned. He didn't sound like that did he? There was such venom in his voice that it even made his skin crawl. He knew that he hated the King, that there was no reason he should polite or kind towards him, but the amount of hatred in his voice made him wonder what had happened between now and then.

The King ignored him and got to his feet, "My Son tells me that you are very powerful and that not even I could hold you in my cells." Current Merlin looked at the Prince and saw he was glaring at his future self. Where was the tender look that he had grown used too? "However you are not the only sorcerer here," Uther looked over at the future Morgause who stepped out to stand by his side. This wasn't right. The King didn't side with sorcerers. This future wasn't making any sense. "Under the laws of Camelot, I sentence you to death for the use of magic and enchantments. Do you have any last words sorcerer?"

His future self turned to look at Arthur and a satisfied smile came to his lips, he then turned around to look directly at where the two past selves looked in from. Merlin frowned, he couldn't see them, could he? "Trust _no one_. Once a Pendragon, _always_ a Pendragon." He hadn't realised his grip on Morgause had loosened and it was only her moving away that stopped the image continuing.

Merlin sat on the ground and stared at where his future self had been. It made sense in a way. He now knew that he'd be looking in on that scene in the future, so it was only natural that he'd send a message back to the past, but why that? He didn't trust anyone. He knew that Arthur would always be a Pendragon. Why would his views change on that?

"It's good to know I have a future," Morgause muttered and pushed herself to her feet somehow. "Apparently your future ends up with Arthur betraying you. Wonder how that must feel? To have yet _another_ Pendragon stare you in the eye in that throne room and _not_ help you." She brushed off her dress and shook her head to clear the fogginess that was no doubt there. "Get comfortable Emrys, there's no way off this small island and I need some rest. I'll come back tomorrow morning."

* * *

Arthur stared up at the full moon and pulled the blanket more around his body. Merlin hadn't turned up all day and after searching the area, there was no sign that he'd gone anywhere. Which meant something had to have happened that Arthur understood nothing about. Many of the sorcerers had used what little gifts they had to see if they could sense something, none of them found anything. It was like Merlin had never existed. So here he sat, waiting, watching the full moon in hopes that Merlin would stumble into camp with that goofy smile on his face.

"You'll freeze to death out here," Gwen put another blanket over him and sat at his side. "He'll be fine Arthur. I'm sure you remember just how powerful-"

"That's the thing Gwen, he's not powerful, not right now. He has no means of defence. What if whoever cast that curse on him, took him? They could have taken him anywhere and I can't help him again." Arthur sighed and put his head in his hands, "He makes me feel useless whenever I'm around him. Back home I'm the strongest knight they've ever seen. Here I'm … nothing."

"You are _not_ nothing. Who was it that saved his life? _You_." Gwen rested a comforting hand on his arm and was shoved aside as a small figure wedged herself between them. "What are you doing up so late Morgana?"

"Couldn't sleep," Morgana muttered and ducked her head under Arthur's arm to look up at him by rolling onto her back so her head rested on his lap. It was only because of Gwen holding her body that she didn't fall off the log they all 'sat' on. "Don't worry about Emrys, he'll be okay." Morgana raised her hand and gently traced the lines on Arthur's face that deepened during the times of worrying about Merlin. "He has faced many enemies and always survived. The legends say he once took on an entire army by himself and came out of it without a scratch."

"They're just stories."

"Stories have to come from somewhere," Morgana commented and dropped her hand to rest against his chest. "You'd know if he was in trouble, Arthur. You'd feel it in here."

"When did you get so wise?" Arthur questioned quietly.

"Around the same time you started believing that sorcerer's weren't bad people."

* * *

Morgause had been telling the truth. There was no way off the small island she'd taken him too and Merlin had spent the entire night walking the shore line. Now he was back in the cave with a new plan running through his mind. It was risky and he'd only done this kind of thing once. However desperate times call for desperate measures.

So as Morgause entered the chamber she had left him in, he pretended to be asleep and waited for her to approach. "Time to wake up Emrys," she said but he didn't budge. He needed her close otherwise this wouldn't work. "Don't pretend to sleep, I can tell the difference." Still he didn't move. A loud sigh echoed through the cave and Morgause came to nudge him with her foot. "I'm not in the mood-"

The sound of a wave crashing drowned out her small scream as Merlin shot to his feet and wrapped his hand around her neck tightly, his eyes looking intensely into her own. "If you think this will … what …" Morgause's eyes widened as she felt something sharp run across her stomach, however Merlin kept her gaze up and she couldn't see that a rock now fell to the ground that was covered in a few drops of blood. "What are you doing Emrys?" Morgause asked.

He didn't reply. Couldn't. Merlin had sworn he'd never do this again but he had no choice. Without thinking about it, Merlin took his free hand and pressed it to her wound. "_Brówung,_" both sorcerer's eyes went black and Morgause gasped as the spell began to work.

**

* * *

Some drama here and a glimpse of what's to come =]**

**Hope you enjoyed and PLEASE review! Thanks for reading.**


	13. Doubting A Friend

**Doubting A Friend**

* * *

"This magic does not exist," Morgause whispered as Merlin grew stronger from the spell. She was right of course. The magic he used had not existed for generations and Merlin only knew about it due to an event that happened after his mothers death. As her blood stained his hand and the magic left her body to go into the wound on his palm, Merlin knew he was delving into dark magics. However it was his only choice if he wanted to get back. "_Blood_ magic does not exist."

"You'd be surprised how much I can do that does not exist anymore," Merlin replied and he vanished from sight as he got enough magic to transport himself home. Morgause on the other hand sunk to the floor and pressed her hand to her wound, sealing it up with the magic she had left. What Merlin had done was what many dreamed of knowing. It meant that if you killed enough sorcerers, drained all their magic from them through bleeding, you could become as powerful as you wanted. It was why the magic had been buried away in the past, so people like Morgause couldn't use it.

As Merlin appeared in his tent, he stood still as he tried to calm himself, the foreign magic running through his body now trying control him. That was the downside of taking other's people magic. It often did what it's original owner wanted and right now Morgause no doubt wanted Merlin to come back to answer her questions. Turning slowly on the spot, Merlin spotted the small stone she had embedded into him all those days ago and aimed his hand at it. If he needed to get rid of the last remaining part of her magic, what better way then to destroy the very thing that had caused it to happen?

Without much effort, the magic shot from his hand and the stone smashed into hundreds of pieces. However, instead of nothing happening, Merlin gasped as his entire body began to heat up and he looked at his hands to see both symbols glowing brightly. His magic was back and after not being used for so long, it was itching to be used. "Merlin!" A deep voice came from behind him and he acted instinctively at the sound of a voice that sounded so much like Uther Pendragon. His magic left him in one big wave and Merlin winched as he heard a body thrown through the air and onto the table in the middle of the tent.

He was over at Arthur's side a second later and resting a hand over his chest, sent his magic flowing into him so whatever injuries he may have caused were now gone. The entire event was over in mere seconds and Arthur's blue eyes were looking back at him a moment later, a small smile on his face to see Merlin back to his usual self. "Any reason why you did that?"

"Oh you know, you simply annoy me by being in the same tent as me, thought I'd express myself." Merlin went to help Arthur off the table when his symbols acted up the moment he touched the Prince. Ripping his hands away, Merlin stepped away and gave an apologetic smile. Arthur didn't seem to notice however and leapt off the table easily, it was like he hadn't even been touched by Merlin's magic.

"So where did you go?" Arthur asked as he brushed off his clothes.

Merlin thought to tell him the truth, to say that Morgause had taken him and he'd used black magic to get himself home. Except his own words ran through his mind. Once a Pendragon, always a Pendragon. Did that mean Arthur would turn out exactly like his Father? That if the day came when Merlin needed his help, Arthur would turn him away and say he wasn't worth such efforts? The thoughts caused him to do what he thought was best for now. "An old friend dropped by in need of help, they took me with them and they had heard of this stone that was used on me. In return for my help, they told me how to get my magic back."

"I take it they're a sorcerer as well?" Arthur asked and took a seat at the table.

"Yes," Merlin simply replied and walked over to where his mirror hung on the wall.

Staring at his reflection, Merlin barely recognised himself. In the past when he'd looked in the mirror, he'd seen a cold hearted man who hated the world around him, now he saw a confused boy who didn't know who to trust. That should be an issue. Merlin had sworn he'd never trust anyone, that shouldn't change, there shouldn't be any question about who to trust. The answer was simple. No one. Merlin trusted no one. He kept repeating the words in his head and glanced over at his cloak.

When had the habit of putting the cloak on when he woke up stopped? Before Arthur had come into his life, he'd worn the cloak inside the tent and out. Now he barely thought to wear it unless he was facing people who he couldn't afford to know his identity. Arthur was the crowned Prince, if anything, Merlin should be wearing it more around him. "Something the matter?" Arthur asked from where he sat and Merlin looked at him in the mirror. He looked so relaxed, happy, comfortable even, when sitting in the home of someone who was the enemy of his Father.

When had the world turned upside down?

* * *

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Gwen said as she pushed open the tent door and Merlin watched as Arthur got to his feet, a huge smile on his face to see they had company. Unfortunately since Merlin had gotten back, there hadn't been much said between the two of them and yet Arthur hadn't left him alone. He'd remained sat at the table whilst Merlin began to do a bit of light reading. However it was now evident that Arthur had wanted someone to socialize with. "Me and the guys were going to head down to the lake for an evening swim before supper, we were wondering if you wanted to join us?"

"That would be great!" Arthur exclaimed and Merlin's eyes dropped back down to his book. The question hadn't been directed at him. He knew that without anyone telling him. "Can M-" he felt the glare at the back of his head from the sorcerer "-Emrys come?"

"Oh sorry! I didn't think it would be your type of thing Emrys, not that I know what type of thing you like to do, I'm sure you love to swim." Gwen blushed a little and Arthur laughed quietly.

"Another time," Merlin replied and Arthur's smile dropped.

"Come on, it'll be fun! Get you talking-"

"I said _no_, Arthur!" He said loudly and silence fell over the three as the Prince looked at him in shock. Without saying another word, he left along with Gwen and left Merlin to do whatever he wanted. Finally. Putting his head in his hands, he stared down at the book and let out a deep breath. He needed to put some distance between himself and the Prince. It couldn't go on like this. Especially since Arthur now had the idea he could boss Merlin around like he was just anyone. Merlin was the most feared sorcerer in all the land for a reason.

"You shouldn't frown like that Emrys, it doesn't suit you."

Merlin looked up to see the elder entering the tent and he used magic to pull out her usual chair at his side out of habit. "You always freak me out when you do that. There's no way you can tell I'm frowning."

"There are some things not even you can understand," she said wisely and took her seat. Closing the book, Merlin pushed it to his side and studied the old woman. He had known her most of his life, she was probably the closest thing he had to family and yet they knew nothing about one another. What did that say about him? "Is the young Prince causing you to frown so much?"

"Is it that obvious?" He replied and she smiled, reaching forward to gently brush away the hair falling across his forehead. "Why did you tell me to go and rescue him? I can understand you wanted Morgana to be safe, along with the other women, but him? His Father caused you such suffering in the past, just like he did me. Surely we should make him suffer like we did … not save his only living heir so he can turn out just like his Father."

"So you think he'll kill sorcerers like Uther?"

"Do you?"

"I hate it when you do that. Can't you just answer my question?"

"It doesn't matter what I think, I'm an old woman and by the time he becomes King, I'll be long gone. So you have to ask yourself, if you had the choice to save him again, would you?" When Merlin didn't reply, she got to her feet and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Arthur has done nothing to indicate he'd kill a sorcerer. So have a little faith he'll be a greater King then Uther."

Just before she left, Merlin called out for her and she paused in her departure. "Have I changed? Since he got here I mean."

"Emrys, if someone had told me a few months ago that I'd be in here having a heart to heart conversation with you about the Prince, I'd never have believed it. Yet here we are." She pushed back the door and left him to think. Which was never a good thing.

* * *

Uther watched as his Son walked down in the courtyard with a couple of his knights and saw a smile that he hadn't seen in years. It was only recently he was beginning to see the changes in Arthur. There was a bounce in his step, he was more eager to go out on hunting trips and whilst training he was at his best. If he didn't know any better, he'd say the boy had fallen in love or something had happened to cause him to be this happy. Except he knew Arthur wasn't seeing anyone and there was no time for him to do anything to be the cause of his new found happiness. However the evidence was there.

"Sire, you asked to see me?" One of the servants appeared at the door and he nodded.

"Get in contact with that woman who came to me a few days ago, I need to meet with her immediately."

"Yes Sire."

* * *

Arthur was packing his bag yet again so he had a change of clothing for his visit to the Druid camp when there was a knock at the door. Saying they could come in, he looked over his shoulder to see it was one of his Father's servants, "Yes?"

"The King has requested you come see him in the throne room Sire, right away if possible."

"Thank you. I'll come now."

The servant bowed his head and shut the door behind him. Arthur wondered what his Father could possible want. He had had no objections when Arthur had said he was going out hunting and he'd stayed in Camelot long enough not to raise a suspicion. He was even beginning to miss the people back at camp who he hadn't seen for a couple of weeks now.

Throwing his bag over his shoulder, Arthur held the strap as he left his chambers and walked the halls of the castle until he entered the hall. His Father stood tall and with a smile on his face. Not something you saw every day. "You wanted to see me Sire?"

"Yes. I know you're leaving for your hunting trip tonight and I wanted to wish you good luck before you go, you haven't had the best of luck of bringing anything back lately so you'll need it." Arthur smiled in return and gave a small nod in thanks. Suddenly his Father brought out something from his pocket and Arthur saw it was a necklace of some kind. "I had this brought up from the vaults for you."

"What is it?"

"An old family heirloom. Passed between Father and Son when they are in need of good luck. I thought it an appropriate time to bring it out. I wish for you to wear it whilst you're out on your trip." Arthur let the King bring it over his head and he glanced down at the red gem in the center of the main piece hanging off the gold chain. "Looks perfect."

"Thank you … Father. I am sure it will bring me the luck needed to bring something home. I will return in a couple of days." Departing after a few words of saying goodbye, the doors shut behind him and the King was left alone in the throne room. At least that's what Arthur thought. Unbeknown to him, a figure emerged from the shadows and smiled at the sight of the Prince walking off with her creation.

* * *

Returning to camp uplifted Arthur's spirits like usual and he left his horse to graze on some grass as he went in search of Merlin. However when he pushed back the tent door, there was no sign of the sorcerer and the lights were out. It looked like he hadn't been there all day. Frowning, he walked back down to the main camp and found Gwen talking quietly with Lancelot.

"Hello," he greeted and the other two looked up at him. "I was wondering where I could find Emrys? He's not in his tent and I doubt he's down here somewhere."

"He's been healing a new arrival all day, most likely he'll be down at the lake talking with the elder, they're down there most days." Lancelot explained and Arthur thanked them before heading towards the lake. It didn't take long to get there and he found Merlin alone. No sign of the elder anywhere.

"Pendragon," Merlin greeted cooly and Arthur noticed he was wearing his cloak again. He thought they'd come to some understanding that he didn't need to wear that around camp. "We didn't expect you back so quickly."

"I managed to get away and enough time had gone since I was last away." Walking over to stand by Merlin's side, he noticed that the sorcerer didn't acknowledge his presence by looking at him, he simply stared out at the water. "I hear there's a new person in camp and you've been healing them, are they okay?"

"He's fine, no doubt will be around camp tomorrow for you to meet. He received a knife wound, much like you did and it's taken a while to heal." Merlin crossed his arms and Arthur heard him take in a deep breath. "Did you want anything from me in particular?"

"No … I just thought you'd want to see me. Haven't you missed me?" When no reply came, Arthur got the message loud and clear which made him frown more. What was the sudden cold attitude? It was like he'd turned back into that sorcerer who had saved him from the slave traders. "I can see you're very busy. I'll leave you to it."

Arthur had walked a few steps away when an invisible wall blocked his path and he turned to see Merlin had crossed the distance. For a few milliseconds Arthur thought he was going to get the greeting he wanted, except he saw that Merlin wasn't looking at him, but at his necklace. "_Where_ did you get this?" Merlin asked.

"Why do you care?" A stern glare made him answer. "My Father gave it to me for good luck. I obviously haven't been bringing back anything from my hunting trips and he thought it might help. What does it matter? It's just a family heirloom." When Merlin didn't say anything and kept his eyes on the gem that he knew was a red as blood, Arthur put his hand beneath the sorcerer's chin to tilt his head up. "What's happened whilst I was away? You're not your usual self."

Merlin's bright blue eyes softened for a moment and then returned to being cold, "You are mistaken Pendragon. _This_ is who I usually am. Go back to camp." The sorcerer turned away and Arthur felt his anger boil to the surface, enough that he reached out and grabbed Merlin by the arm.

"Don't treat me like everyone else, I know this isn't-"

"You're right Pendragon, I shouldn't treat you like everyone else. After all, you're the crown Prince and I should bow down to your every order." Merlin stepped away and teasingly bowed like he was a servant, his cloak falling from his head as he straightened. "Let me ease the burden of walking for you."

The next time Arthur blinked, he found himself back in camp and with Merlin nowhere in sight.

* * *

**Merlin's trust issues are beginning to surface again. So far I've planned up to chapter twenty so there's plenty of drama to come yet.**

**Keep reading and reviewing =]**


	14. Avoiding A Future

**Avoiding A Future**

* * *

_"Merlin, why don't you go and play with the other children in the village? You'd have a lot of fun." Hunith said quietly as she approached the small boy from behind as he looked out across a small lake._

_"I don't fit in with them Mumma. I prefer it out here, out in the wild, where it's nice and peaceful." He spread out his arms and looked up to the sky, "I can be myself here."_

_"You can be yourself around other people."_

_"No, I can't. They'll never know the real me. I have to pretend to be like them, keep my magic hidden and locked away. How can I talk to them and know they wouldn't like me if they actually knew me." A flick of the hand made a shot of water come out of the lake and sprinkle over him like it was raining. "Out here, I'm free."_

_The young woman knelt down beside him and gently brushed the hair from his face affectionately, "One day you'll meet someone who will like you for you. Magic will be accepted. Don't cut yourself off from the world because you're afraid people will hate you simply for using magic. There will be a day I won't be here and I don't like to think of you being alone."_

_"Where will you be?"_

_"Sweetie, you'll grow up and move away from here. Ealdor isn't big enough for someone like you."_

_"I'm not going anywhere!" Merlin exclaimed and threw his arms around her neck, holding her tightly. "I'll stay here and look after you. Even when I'm old. I'm never leaving you Mumma, you're the only one who loves me for me, forever and ever."_

* * *

Merlin opened his eyes and looked out at a different lake, it almost felt like he was home. It was somewhere like this that he hid away from the children, from his village, in hopes of being left alone. No one could understand what it was like to be him. Yes, there were people who grew up hiding their magic but it was as easy as breathing to them to not use it, however his magic was a part of him. Without magic, Merlin saw no point in living.

His eyes flashed golden as the water shot out of the lake and he was sprinkled lightly with tiny drops, his childhood fresh in mind. He would most likely never truly expect anyone to love him for him. There was an entire camp nearby that were like him, that had to hide because of who they were, yet he'd never felt so much like an outsider. Merlin knew he was partly to blame. He didn't let anyone get close or allow anyone to help him heal his old wounds. The question was; what was he still doing here?

He could leave and keep the protection barriers up around the camp so he'd know when they needed him. That was simple enough. There was no one here that needed him in their lives. Everyone had someone to take care of them.

"You've been here a while now," the Prince said from behind him and Merlin sighed. There was his reason. The fact that his heart picked up at the sound of Arthur's voice, that a mere look made butterflies appear in his stomach and any touch made him weak at the knees. Arthur didn't even have to do any of that to make Merlin feel anything. Just looking at him did that. "Are you ever coming back to camp or are you setting up here?"

The water seised flowing from the lake and Merlin waited for the final drops to fall before acknowledging the Prince's presence. "I didn't realise that there was a curfew Sire," Merlin replied and a muscle ticked in his neck as he sensed the foreign magic near him. He'd first felt it earlier when Arthur had returned but for some reason he couldn't pick out where it was from. Merlin had believed it was the Prince's necklace but when he'd tried to pin point the magic, the necklace hadn't jumped out at him.

"Okay, seriously, what's with the attitude?"

"I apologise, you are right though, it's getting late and I should get some rest." However for some reason the world was suddenly tilting on its axis and Merlin only had a few seconds before he was under water. He waved his arms about, attempting to learn to swim in the one minute he was left alone in the water and was grateful when an arm came around his waist to pull him to the surface. As he was helped onto solid ground, Merlin coughed up the water he'd swallowed and shoved off his cloak as it threatened to weigh him down. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"How was I meant to know you can't swim?"

"I can swim." Merlin lied and rolled to lie on his back. "If I wanted to swim I could."

"You never like to show any sign of weakness do you?" Arthur commented as he pulled off his top to squeeze out the water. When Merlin didn't answer, he nudged his side and smiled, "I pushed you in to wake you up, clear your mind, please stop being so distant."

"I'm not."

"I swear I will push you back in Merlin," Arthur threatened and Merlin inwardly laughed. He'd like to see him try. You can surprise a sorcerer once but not twice. "Gwen was asking after you. She said that guy you saved woke up and wanted to thank you, it's why I came down here, to get you."

"You sure that's the only reason?" Merlin couldn't help but ask and it was the Prince's turn to fall silent, a faint of red covering his cheeks. "Thank you for telling me, I'm sure you saved a long debate on who was going to actually come get me, by the time they usually make up their mind, I'm usually coming back." Closing his eyes briefly, he whispered a spell and he instantly became warm and dry.

"Going to do that to me?" Arthur asked.

"I think not. I'll let you suffer instead."

* * *

Arthur looked at the strange woman sat opposite him at the table and glanced at his Father who ate silently. He had yet to introduce them properly. All he knew was that her name was Morgause. Picking at his food, he wondered who she could be to gain the privilege to eat with them, it was a rare occasion to have company. "So, Morgause, how do you know my Father?"

"Don't bother her with questions Arthur," Uther said sternly.

Silence followed for a while before Arthur noticed a small smile come to Morgause's lips, "I hear you've been having some trouble with a sorcerer lately?" She directed the question at the King.

"Yes, they seem to get past all my best knights and help the prisoners escape. I'm beginning to think they have help."

"I've heard rumors it could be the famous Emrys." At the sound of Merlin's name, Arthur's face paled and he tried to look casual as he took a huge sip of water. "Have you heard about him my lord?"

"I have heard a little but I believed him to be but a story."

Morgause shook her head, "I've seen him for myself Sire. He's real. Even wounded me enough that I was bed ridden for days, all for the sake of gaining power." She looked back at Arthur and saw him watching her closely. "He uses blood magic you see. It's an ancient way used by sorcerers to gain power through stealing it from another by taking blood. Emrys has had centuries to gain power, who knows how many people he has killed."

"I hardly think he's centuries old," Arthur commented and set down his cup. "That's just another rumor."

"Then how would you explain his power?" Morgause asked and rested her chin on her hand, "His amount of power has never been seen before. He can do things in the blink of an eye that would take decades for others to learn. If he is really so young, how else could he do it unless by killing dozens to gain the power?"

"You seem to know a lot about him," Uther pointed out.

"I have been trying to find him for a few years now my lord," she stated and dropped her hands onto her lap. "He destroyed my home and my family, I seek revenge for the lives lost. He should not get away for things that should be punishable by death." Morgause sounded so angry that Arthur wondered whether she was telling the truth. However, Merlin wasn't that kind of man … was he? Did Arthur really know him?

"He has caused much trouble for me Morgause, when we capture him, you'll have your revenge."

* * *

"Sire, you summoned me?" Morgause said as she entered the King's chambers.

"Yes, thank you for coming at such a late hour." Uther looked from his window and glanced over at her as she came to stand by his side. "Arthur has left yet again for one of his hunting trips that he keeps lying to me about. I'm tired of waiting. Did your gift work?"

"Of course Sire. I say the word and the path will reveal itself to where the Prince has gone. Do you want me to gather the knights to set off tonight?"

"No, let him settle in for the night, we'll go in the morning so we'll have daylight on our side. It'll be interesting to see where he's been going lately." He noticed Morgause glance down and Uther raised an eyebrow, "You have your suspicions?"

"Oh, no sire-"

"Tell me."

"What if Emrys got to him Sire? To seek revenge against you for killing his people, he could have tricked your Son into thinking he's a good guy, that you're the bad guy." She replied and looked out the window herself to see the Prince leaving. "It's what I'd do if I were him."

"Then we'll kill him where he stands."

* * *

Arthur pushed open the tent door and slipped inside, trying to be as quiet as possible so not to wake Merlin. He knew that he should sleep in his assigned tent, that automatically assuming he could sleep here was wrong, but he didn't like the thought of sleeping alone. He'd only shared a bed with the sorcerer twice and now he was having separation issues. It was depressing and worrying.

Setting his bag on the table along with his sword, Arthur kicked off his shoes and pulled off his top. He couldn't be bothered to change into something else for bed, not after the long ride here. Silently walking into the bedding area, he saw Merlin asleep on the bed with his head buried in his pillow, his bare hands just visible as they clutched the duvet.

Walking around the bed, he pulled back the cover and climbed in slowly, hoping the shift in the weight on the bed didn't disturb the sleeping man. Surprisingly, even though the last time they had talked Merlin had been off with him, Arthur still had missed him the past few days whilst he was away. He kept having moments where he wanted to talk to Merlin about something that had happened during his day and yet had turned around to find a random servant following him. It would be nice if one day Merlin could come to Camelot without the threat of his Father finding him looming in the air.

Turning on his side, Arthur smiled as Merlin moved in his sleep, his head now less sunk into the pillow as he moved closer to the edge. Arthur wondered what it had been like for Merlin whilst growing up. When he had seen his memory, there had been no indication of a Father and his Mother had died at such a young age. Who had taken care of him? Where had he lived? Did someone teach him what he knew or did he really use blood magic?

Unconsciously, Arthur traced the frown line slightly visible on Merlin's forehead and knew it was from the many nights the sorcerer spent worrying if he'd be found. He on the other hand had never had to worry about that. His Father had protected him since birth, made up for the loss of his Mother, did anything he could to make sure Arthur felt safe in his own home. Merlin had had no one. "I'm sorry," Arthur whispered even though it wasn't his fault. If he could change the past, he would.

"Sorry about what?" Merlin suddenly replied and Arthur smirked. Of course he'd been awake, why did Arthur ever think that anything could slip past Merlin?

"Your life," he plainly put it and Merlin opened his eyes to look at him in question. "You must have had it tough growing up without any parents. Without anyone to trust. I complain that my life is bad back home and how I hate being restricted by rules, but at least I _had_ the rules to break." Gently brushing back the sorcerer's hair, he wondered how he could help Merlin trust people more, show him that the world wasn't a horrible place filled with evil people out to hurt you.

"It wasn't so bad," Merlin admitted and dropped his gaze a little. "I got to travel around a lot, see places that I probably never would have otherwise. I never liked being in my village, the only reason I was there was to stay with my Mother, she kept me safe and loved me. When she was gone, I was free to live the life I wanted. I no longer had to pretend to like being around people, I could sleep outdoors and not talk to anyone for days if I felt like it."

"Don't you ever want to settle down? Create a home for yourself? You seem to have settled down here a little," Arthur replied quietly.

"This is temporary. I'll move on eventually. See if there's any other places I can explore."

"Why can't you stay?" Arthur asked and moved a little closer to he could catch Merlin's gaze. "The people here want to get to know _you_. They'd treat you like family and you wouldn't have to run anymore. You might even find someone to love if you try hard enough." Why did the thought of Merlin finding someone to care about make his blood run cold?

"_Me_, love?" A small laugh came from the man. "I'm not someone who's ever going to fall in love. Besides, what's the point? It's not like anyone would return my feelings. I have symbols on my hands that mean I would have to wear gloves to touch them, people hunting me constantly so they'd always be in danger, I'm not sociable either-"

"All minor details that could be fixed, stop making excuses and just accept that you are completely lovable. Anyone would be lucky to have you. You're kind, protective, loyal and brave. If I end up with someone who is half the person you are, I would be the luckiest-" Arthur was silenced when a soft kiss was pressed to his lips and it ended a second later when Merlin pulled away sheepishly. If Arthur had blinked, he'd have missed the entire thing. "What was that for?"

"I don't know … I just …" Merlin blushed and his hair fell across his forehead as he sunk into the mattress. "Thank you. For saying those things. It's been a very long time since anyone said anything nice to say about me." Arthur went to reply except the young sorcerer rolled over and put his back to the Prince, ending the conversation before it had barely begun. Even now he could feel the faint touch of his lips against his own. It had been innocent and soft, like he wasn't quite sure what he was doing. Then again, Arthur couldn't exactly see Merlin having much experience with his dodgy past.

"Goodnight," Arthur whispered into the night and turned onto his back. Tomorrow he could ask Merlin why thanking him had included a kiss, for now they needed to sleep, not everything needed to be done in the moment. They weren't going anywhere. "Pleasant dreams," he added and closed his eyes. Waiting for tomorrow to come.

**

* * *

Short chapter I know =[ Plus it's taken me a few days to get this up. I've have two major exams today so revision has been 24/7 and one of them didn't go so well, hence the short update as inspiration is lost on me as I wallow in self pity.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one is where the real drama begins. The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update this time, so just take a couple of seconds to review, please? Even if you just go 'wasup' XD**

**Until next time.**


	15. Breaking A Bond

**Breaking A Bond**

* * *

You don't recognize the biggest day of your life, not until you're right in the middle of it. The day to commit to something or someone, the day you get your heart broken, the day you meet your soul mate, the day you realise there's not enough time because you want to live forever and the day you realise it was all a lie. Those are the biggest days, the days that started out completely normal and end up being … life changing.

* * *

After what seemed forever, Arthur got out of bed and decided that Merlin was determined never to wake up. He had planned for them to talk. To see if that kiss had meant anything to the young sorcerer. However he was now bored and his stomach was making sounds that were rare for the Prince to have. Going into the main area of the tent, he changed into some fresh clothes and decided he'd go for a swim in the lake to freshen up. It wasn't like he had people standing around who were prepared to make him a bath and the cool water would do him some good.

"You're back!" Morgana exclaimed as he walked down through camp and he stopped in his tracks to affectionately ruffle her hair. "Did you stay with Emrys again? Is he feeling okay?" She glanced worriedly in the tents direction and Arthur felt his cheeks heat up as he saw Gwen smile knowingly at him. She couldn't possibly know what happened last night. No one could.

"Emrys is fine Morgana. I just went to talk to him early this morning about things and I stayed for breakfast. Now I'm going down for a swim in the lake." He didn't waste any time in escaping the watchful gaze of Gwen and he smiled at Morgana as he left. Running a hand through his hair, he tried to ignore the nagging thought in the back of his mind as he passed through the trees and only when he was stood by the water did he let himself relax.

Just as he was about to set down his jacket on the ground, he heard something coming from nearby and he turned quietly so not to be heard himself. When he spotted a person passing through the trees, he pressed himself up against a tree and peered around the trunk to see who it was. Anyone from the camp would never have come from the direction he'd seen the person coming from, which meant they were either passing through or had every intention of finding that camp since the next village wasn't exactly close by.

"Show yourself, I know you're there." A voice he recognised came from the figure and Arthur stepped out from his hiding place to see a fellow knight holding a sword tightly. "Prince Arthur!" He exclaimed and lowered his weapon, a smile on his face. "Are you okay?"

"What are you doing here?" Arthur didn't answer the question and slipped his jacket back on, "How did you find me? I didn't tell anyone where I was going."

"The King told us where we could find you. He sent us to bring you home. We must hurry and get out of here Sire, the other men will be looking for you." Leon turned to leave and Arthur grabbed him by the arm, holding him still. "Sire?"

"Other men? My Father sent numerous men to search for me? What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing Sire. He just sent all of us incase you were in danger. He had reason to believe Emrys was after you." Arthur frowned, why would his Father think something like that? All he knew was that Arthur was out on a hunting trip. Nothing about where he was staying. "Now that we know you're okay, we can head back and inform the King of your safe return."

"Just how many are there of you?" Arthur asked.

"I believe two dozen of us were sent Sire."

* * *

Merlin wasn't sure what woke him. Just that one moment he was back in his home town and the next he was sat up in bed with no Prince lying beside him. Pushing the hair from his face, Merlin looked around to see everything looked the same, despite that everything felt different. Something was going on that he didn't know about and it was on days like this that something terrible usually happened. _Arthur_.

The thought of the Prince being in danger made him get to his feet and walk over to grab his cloak, changing instantly to his usual dark attire without so much as a thought and he slipped on his black gloves so his symbols were covered. "_Ábeþecian_," he said the spell as he walked towards the exit of his tent and he was transported to where Arthur was. However instead of finding himself somewhere in camp, he was on the outskirts near the lake and he looked at a scene he had always feared.

A few yards away, Arthur was in a heated discussion with a Knight of Camelot and made no attempt to fight him. The Knight had put his sword away and seemed to be trying to talk reason to the Prince, at least until he spotted Merlin stood there. He knew how intimidating he looked, hence why the Knight pulled out his sword, it wasn't everyday you saw a man who was meant to be a story right before your very eyes. "Sire, go! Emrys is here!"

Arthur, now understanding why his fellow Knight had pulled out his sword, spun around to look at Merlin with wide eyes and the sorcerer glanced at his feet which had parted on the ground in a defensive manner. Strange. Even when they had first met he hadn't done that. However this time Arthur had something to be worried about. Merlin had just caught him talking with a Knight, right next to the camp no less, and Merlin wasn't fond of giving second chances or hearing different sides of the story.

"It's alright Leon, he won't hurt us."

"You can't know that," the man called Leon said and pushed Arthur behind him in order to protect his Prince. He stepped forward with his sword held steady and Merlin studied it was curiosity, why these men thought weapons like that could harm him was strange. "Your fight is with me sorcerer," Leon claimed and shock ran across his face as Merlin covered the distance, his body now an inch within the sorcerer's as he met his gaze. "How-"

"Tell me what he spoke to you about," Merlin ordered.

"Leave him be. He has done nothing here, talk to me, let me explain M-" Arthur began to say.

"I asked young Leon to answer me, you shall remain silent or I will make you be quiet, are we clear?" Merlin gave him no chance to answer as his attention returned to the Knight who was breathing slowly so not to give off the impression he was scared. However Merlin could tell his heart was racing and all his thoughts were on how to escape. It was pretty brave of him to think that he could even get away from Emrys. "What are you doing here?"

"The King … he said that Arthur had to be brought home."

"How did you find him?"

"By following a path on a map drawn by the King," Leon explained and glanced over at Arthur who was frowning a lot.

"Show me this map," Merlin demanded and the Knight glanced down at his belt where the map was held. He took the map without thought and stepped away from Leon, studying the path drawn to see that it wasn't on any normal routes. This one was random and the path had been drawn by someone who hadn't wanted to be seen whilst traveling it. "_Onlúcan_," Merlin waved his hand over the map and a shot of white light went directly to Arthur who stared down at his necklace that now glowed.

Dropping the map, Merlin walked over to the suddenly tense Prince and ripped the necklace from his neck. This was how they found him. By using magic. Which meant Uther hadn't just sent for Arthur to be brought home. He was up to something much greater than that. "I didn't know what it was Merlin," Arthur whispered quietly and grasped the hand clutching the necklace, "You have to believe me."

"Why should I?" Merlin replied and lifted his gaze to meet Arthur's. "What am I meant to make of this Arthur? Finding you alone with a Knight of Camelot and a necklace filled with magic that could be used to find me. How do I know you don't tell your Father everything about me and are only waiting for the opportune moment to kill me? Was today the day you going to kill me?"

"No!" Arthur pulled him close by pulling at his hand and Merlin ignored the fluttering in his stomach from the close contact. "I could never harm you. Not after … you mean _too_ much to me." He lifted his free hand and slipped it under the hood so he could cup the side of Merlin's face, a tender smile on his lips. Merlin would have believed his words if a sword wasn't suddenly coming out of his stomach and he shoved Arthur away just as Leon pulled back his weapon, fresh blood now dripped from the sword he carried.

"Sire, run!" Leon yelled and grabbed the Prince by the arm, dragging him away even as Arthur looked back at Merlin with wide eyes. So, Arthur had been lying. Those words had been said to distract him and now he knew why his future self had said those words. It had been for this moment and Merlin had slipped up. He had thought that for just one second, someone cared about him like his Mother had, that Arthur would go against his Father if it meant keeping him safe. Merlin had trusted Arthur's words for a split second and now he was being left for dead.

They clearly didn't know who they were dealing with.

* * *

"What did you do?" Arthur yelled and shoved Leon against a nearby tree, anger raging through him. "You killed him!" Merlin was probably bleeding to death back there and because of what Leon might report back to his Father, he couldn't go back. He couldn't show how much he cared for the sorcerer. Yet as more thoughts had come to his mind, as they ran, of Merlin begging him to come back, Arthur had turned on Leon. "He wasn't going to hurt me! You didn't have to kill him!"

"Sire-" Leon began to say but suddenly everything around them went dead silent. Not even the wind blowing in the trees made a sound and Arthur stepped away from Leon to look around, hoping that it was all in his head. "We should keep moving," Leon whispered and Arthur turned to look at him as he let out a startled cry. Leon's body flew through the air and landed a few feet away, the wind knocked out of him from the impact.

"Who's there?" Arthur asked and picked up Leon's sword that had fallen from his hand. It had to be a sorcerer, but which one? Surely they wouldn't mean Arthur any harm after the amount of time he'd with them in camp. "It's me, Arthur. Lets talk about this-"

"No, lets not."

His face drained of colour as Merlin appeared in the blink of an eye before him and his hand shot out, the force coming from his hand enough to make Arthur join Leon on the ground with his view now of the treetops. "Wait, Mer-"

A dark cloaked man now hovered over him as they crouched down and a gloved figure covered in blood pressed against his lips. "You keep forgetting, Arthur, that _that_ name has been long forgotten and you're about to realise just why people fear the name Emrys when they hear I'm coming." Arthur braced himself as Merlin dropped his blood covered glove to his chest and Merlin's lips parted to say a spell that Arthur knew was meant to cause him pain. However just as he expected the pain to fill him, Merlin's head turned to the side all of a sudden and Arthur couldn't see his expression as the hood protected him.

The sorcerer grabbed Leon by his chain mail and lifted him slightly off the ground, "Did you come alone? Answer me." Leon shook his head and both Knights were left alone as Merlin vanished from sight. The silence ended and Arthur realised that he could hear people screaming in the wind. Fear washed through him as he remembered just how many Knights had supposedly come and what damage they could cause if they stumbled on the Druid camp. If the sorcerer's were killed, they were all doomed. For Merlin would never forgive them and Arthur knew he'd hunt every last one of them down for revenge.

* * *

Merlin appeared in the middle of a blood bath as Knights fought sorcerer's that had been caught by surprise by the attack. He could scent the magic in the air as they tried to defend themselves but the Knights had been too quick and they hadn't had the power to use big spells. He didn't waste time and attacked the first Knight he came across by sending a spell right into his chest, causing him to fall dead to the ground a second later. This was done numerous times as he looked for people who needed help.

Lancelot was holding his own as he fought a knight with a sword he'd picked up and Merlin noticed the man he'd saved a few days ago helped him. Both with smiles on their faces as they laughed about how many they'd defeated. He noticed Gwen stood behind them. Clearly both the men were protecting her.

Whilst he had been distracted, a knight had snuck up behind him and if it wasn't for the tiny girl who threw herself at their legs, he'd have another wound to heal right now. Merlin killed the knight before he could harm Morgana and he helped the girl up, brushing off her clothes without really thinking about it. "Are you okay? Where is everyone?"

"They all ran for the caves," she said and wiped away a tear that came from her eye. "I don't know who's made it though. There were so many and most of us were attacked before we woke up. I only managed to get out of my tent alive because Modred came and got me. What if he's dead Emrys? What if I-"

"Modred will be fine. You'll be fine." He heard a knight slash his sword across the barrier Merlin had unconsciously surrounded them both in and Merlin smiled when a fellow sorcerer dealt with him. "Where's the elder? She won't stand a chance right now."

"I don't … she … I'm sorry, I don't know." Tears fell freely from her eyes at the thought of letting him down and the aspect of people being killed, it was enough that Merlin found himself bringing her into his arms to comfort her. Since when did he comfort people? "I don't want to die," she admitted and then her tiny hands clutched his cloak. "Where's Arthur?"

"Don't worry, he's not here." Merlin got to his feet and looked around to see that only a few knights remained standing, the rest of the sorcerers now fighting back strong enough that they made a run for it. "Morgana, go to my tent and stay there okay? It's safe and I'll come get you when everything is sorted out here, okay?" She nodded and he watched her walk past the dead bodies that littered the floor. Suddenly remembering how many potions he had lying around in there, he called out to Morgana to tell her and she turned at the sound of her name.

His heart stopped dead in his chest as he saw a knight move from out behind a tree and he raised his sword above his head to bring it down on Morgana. "NOOO," Merlin was moving forward but knew he'd be too late. The little girl was too far away and the Knight had caught them both by surprise. He thought they'd all gone. Merlin had thought they were safe. Just as he thought he was about to see the little girl sliced in two, another person stepped inbetween them and took the blow to the chest.

Morgana screamed as the body fell back against her and Merlin held out his hand to sent magic forward to keep the body up, another spell now sent to kill the Knight who dared attack a little girl. Only when he was up on the higher ground did he see who had protected Morgana. It was the elder. Her body lowered to the ground as Merlin let the spell go and Morgana clutched at the woman's clothing as she attempted to heal her. However the wound was too great and too much blood had already been lost by the time Merlin reached them.

"No! Come back! Please come back! It's a scratch. Nothing but a scratch." Morgana rubbed the wound and a tiny glow appeared as she kept trying to heal. She'd wear herself out if she kept it up.

Merlin went to kneel the other side of the elder and looked down at her, she had died the moment the blade had hit. There wouldn't have been any chance of healing her even if he'd gotten there sooner. Moving his hand over the wound, he made the blood disappear and her clothes became clean, giving off the appearance that she was mealy sleeping. Morgana's crying could be heard from all around and the remaining sorcerer's emerged from their tents to see what had happened.

He couldn't help but wince as he heard Gwen scream in grief and Lancelot had to hold her so to stop her falling to her knees. The elder had been here since the beginning. Finding their homes, telling them that everything would be alright, that no matter what happened, they'd be safe. None of them had expected her to be gone so terribly. Merlin had always imagined her dying peacefully. If he had known their last conversation would be their last, he would have treasured it more and prolonged it. She had been the one constant figure he'd had during his life and now she was gone. Because of Arthur.

* * *

The Prince ran into camp by himself as he suspected Leon would be killed if he came and his footsteps slowed as he heard the cries as well as saw the dead bodies around him. The sorcerer's slowly parted for him and many glared at him in hatred, why he was getting the blame he didn't know. However when he saw who they all mourned he could understand their reasons. Even Gwen, who was being held in Lancelot's arms, didn't even acknowledge he was passing her.

Approaching where they all looked, he stood a few feet away and tried to think of what he could say. Anything that would make this better. "I'm sorry that this happened. I had no idea-"

"Leave," Merlin said quietly but he might as well had yelled.

"Look, I know you're upset but I-"

"If you don't leave now, I _will_ kill you myself." Merlin didn't look at him, he just stared down at the elder and kept his hand placed over her heart. "You are not welcome here anymore."

"Now wait a minute-"

"Leave and _never_ return." A dark voice now said and everyone was surprised to see it was Morgana who had spoken. She now stood next to the body and Arthur saw that blood covered her, whether it was her blood or not, he didn't know. "You are _not_ welcome here." The bond they had once had he could now see was gone. She didn't look at him like she used too. Morgana looked at him like he was the monster in her life. Like he had been the one to kill all her friends and family.

"Morgana, let me explain-"

It seemed Arthur was doomed to never finish what he wanted to say as she suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs and he was thrown through the air, right towards where one of the fires remained lit. If it wasn't for Merlin who sent a spell his way, he would have probably been injured greatly from the flames. Instead, he found himself lying in the courtyard of Camelot with the dead bodies of the knights surrounding him, no sign of the camp anywhere.

_Leave and never return._

Those four words would no doubt haunt him for the rest of his life.

**

* * *

And there we have it. Enjoy it? Hate it? Let me know ;)**

**The real story begins now.**

**R&R! Until next time.**


	16. Burying A Friend

**Burying A Friend**

* * *

Merlin watched silently as the small boat came to a stop in the middle of the lake and he tried not to feel anything as he looked at the elder's peaceful body lying inside. She had been there for him so often that Merlin hadn't noticed until she was gone. In the past, whenever he'd brought another lost soul into camp, she had made sure that he had a decent meal and got some rest. If he'd ever looked troubled, she would sit with him and not ask questions, she knew that her presence was enough. The elder had been the mother figure he'd needed in life and now she was gone because for a second he'd gone against everything he'd ever thought and believed a Pendragon when he said to trust him. If he hadn't, he could have gotten back to camp quicker, protected everyone, saved lives of the people who now laid to rest in the boats slowly floating to go beside the elder's.

One by one, the remaining sorcerers raised their hands and whispered a silent spell that made flames appear in each of the boats. They had lost half their people. Therefore every person had one person's body to burn. He unconsciously stepped forward towards the water and didn't have to raise his hand to direct his magic, the elder's boat was the last to go up in flames. Their spirits were now free. They could rest peacefully in the afterlife. Merlin could hear the tears coming from the others, many had lost loved ones and others had lost their closest friend. Even Gwen was crying over the loss of people who she had barely known. Gwaine and Lancelot stood either side of her, the three of them the only ones without magic and therefore felt it respectful that they stood back away from the scene. It didn't mean that they didn't grieve.

Turning on the spot, Merlin faced the sorcerer's and dropped the hood from his head. There was no reason to hide from them anymore. These people were now his responsibility to look after and he couldn't guide them if he hid underneath a hood. "We have lost many in this tragedy and it is unforgivable what happened. These sorcerer's did nothing to deserve the way they were treated in their final moments, they should have grown to an old age where they left our world peacefully, instead they were killed by the King's sword." Lifting his hand in front of him, Merlin made a small ball of light appear in his hand and it slowly began to turn into smaller ones. Each of the smaller ones now gliding through the air to hover in front of each person in front of him.

"It is time we sent the King a message. I share my power with each of you, for when you take the light before you, we become one. Uther may have an army at his disposal but we have something far more powerful than that. We will show him that he does not scare us. That he can take half of us away and we'll still come back fighting. No longer will we hide in the shadows and be afraid of him. I stand before you now and ask that you join me in my fight against him. Together, we will show people that magic is here and we're not going anywhere."

Some sorcerer's took a firm hold of the light instantly and brought it to their chest, other's hesitated but soon followed suit. Only one sorcerer remained to join him and the three without magic. "You do not wish to fight?" Merlin asked the little girl who had yet to speak since the death of the elder. Morgana had no life in her green eyes. The dress Arthur had given her was now gone and replaced with another she had found. It seemed the moment Arthur had betrayed them was the moment she had to grow up. Crouching down in front of her, Merlin cupped the side of her face softly and met her gaze. "I am sorry that he betrayed us Morgana. He will pay for what he did. If you wish to remain in camp, you will be safe with the younger children and I'm sure Gwen will stay with you."

"I'm going," she said firmly and her tiny hand surrounded the light.

"We want to help to," Gwaine spoke up and Merlin got to his feet to see the three of them standing tall. "We may not have magic like the rest of you but you helped us when we needed it most. Let us help you." The other two nodded in agreement. Merlin gave a nod in return and looked back at the sorcerer's who were now more powerful than before. Each of them now a part of Merlin and his magic.

* * *

"How are you doing today Sire?" Morgause asked Arthur who sat at his window and he remained mute. How was he meant to respond to that when he didn't know the answer himself. He felt constantly on edge whenever he was awake and when he dreamt, he dreamt of Merlin. There had been no attack on the Kingdom yet and it was making Arthur nervous. They should have retaliated by now. Merlin wasn't someone who would wait, he'd strike back to show Uther who he was messing with and the almighty Emrys from the legends would appear. So why hadn't he turned up? Arthur half expected to wake up every morning with a dagger in his heart and Merlin holding the other end. "Your Father has informed me that you knew what was going on when you were with the sorcerer's. You were not under a spell?"

"No. I went to them out of freewill."

"Even after everything Emrys has done? He has gone against your Father, broken the law by helping sorcerer's like himself and …" she drifted off and Arthur looked over his shoulder at her.

"And?"

"It doesn't matter Sire, I shouldn't have said anything."

Arthur got to his feet and looked at her as she looked down at her hands nervously, she was hiding something. "What else has Emrys done?"

"Your Father did not want you to know but I think until you know the truth, you will never be rid of the thought that Emrys meant you no harm." Morgause straightened up and a sad smile came to her lips, "Emrys is the reason your mother is dead." Arthur felt like a dagger had stabbed him in the heart and he gripped the bed post tightly by his side. "That day he went missing from your camp, it was I who took him, not a friend. I was trying to extract information out of him and I saw one of his memories when I touched his hand." She must have touched one of his symbols.

"What did you see?" Arthur managed to get out.

"He wore a dark black cloak and was stood in the throne room of Camelot, your Father was sat on his throne with your Mother by his side. You had just been born and were being looked after by one of the servants. Emrys was going on about how your Father had been the reason his Mother was dead and that he could no longer fight the need for revenge." She put a hand to her throat as she spoke now. "He said that because he had grown up without a Mother so should Uther's Son, that being you, and he used his magic to slit the throat of your Mother. She was dead the moment Uther caught her and Emrys was gone before they could stop him. Uther pretends not to know of Emrys because it pains him too much to think about what he did to your Mother. I am sorry but Emrys was lying to you. He is not kind, he was only using you to get back at your Father, killing his wife wasn't enough apparently."

"How do I know you speak the truth?"

"Do I have any reason to lie? Emrys is a monster. He kills for fun and thinks because he is so powerful that he is above the law. He is the reason you grew up without a mother. The stories say he is decades old and I believe they are right. Over the years he has used blood magic to get power that should take centuries to gain and his mother's death was the start of it."

"But he said-"

"Sorcerer's lie all the time Arthur. Just because he acted the way he did, doesn't mean it meant anything to him. Did he ever do anything that didn't make sense? Act a way that he shouldn't have?" A flash of Merlin softly kissing him came to mind and his stomach turned inside him. "All of that was a way to trick you Arthur. I'm sorry, but Emrys wasn't who you thought he was."

* * *

Merlin sat in his tent with the layout of Camelot drawn out on a map in front of him on the table. The people outside were all taking a well earned rest after training for several hours. He was teaching them how to use the magic given them wisely and how even the smallest spell could be the most effective. As each of them began to use the magic, they gained the ability to harness their own power effectively and when he took back his power, they'd be just as powerful using their own magic. They had just needed a little help to begin with so they began to believe in themselves.

"Emrys?"

Lifting his gaze away from the map, he saw Gwaine standing at the door and he lowered his barrier so he could step through. Ever since the attack he had made sure no one could enter his tent unless he allowed it. That way, if they were ever found again, his possessions would remain safe and his secrets unread. For there were books on his shelves that many would kill to have. It was the main reason he had sought them out during the years so to stop anyone from reading them. "Is something wrong Gwaine? Did Gwen send you?"

"No, she did not. Gwen is 'hanging out' in Lancelot's tent according to Morgana and everyone else is fast asleep. Thought I'd come and keep you company. That is, if you want any. Apparently you are the loner type though and have been said to kill people who dare enter your tent … I chose to believe they were rumors." He stepped further into the tent and Merlin smirked, the things people said about him amused him sometimes. "They are rumors, right?"

"If I didn't want you to enter my tent then you wouldn't be standing there now would you?" Merlin replied and Gwaine smiled when he realised that he wasn't about to be killed. Getting to his feet, Merlin walked over to his jug of water and got out two cups from the cupboard. "Drink?"

"Please." Merlin poured the drinks as Gwaine looked around the tent and when he heard something break, he glanced over his shoulder to see Gwaine attempting to fix an ornament he had picked up several years ago in a small town. He quickly hid it amongst some pots and kept moving around the tent, attempting to look casual. Laughing inwardly, Merlin set the drinks on the table and took a seat. "You have a lot of books for one person. When do you ever find the time to read all of them?"

"Oh I manage to read a book here and there when I don't have numerous guests to entertain." Of course, he rarely got guests, so finding the time to read was pretty easy. "I have a question for you Gwaine," when he had the man's attention, he carried on. "You have no family, no friends and from what I've been told, no home. Do you not wish to settle down?"

"What's the fun in settling down when there's a whole world out there to explore," Gwaine replied and took a seat opposite Merlin at the table. "Why do you travel around so much?"

"Because I have too. Wanted sorcerer, remember?"

"Doesn't mean you can't settle down. No one out there even knows what you look like. You could set up a home and be a regular person, have a normal life."

"That wouldn't be me though, would it? I wouldn't be able to use my magic and magic to me is like breathing. I use magic without even thinking half the time." Merlin sat back in his seat and studied the man before him. He knew Gwaine had some form of family from where he was born, he was even of royal blood, yet if you passed him on the street you'd think he was just like everyone else. Ordinary. "When do you leave us then if you don't like settling down?"

"I said I would stay to help wouldn't I? We'll see what happens-"

_Merlin_.

He heard his name whispered in his mind and he raised his hand to silence Gwaine who went quiet immediately. Using his magic, he located the source and found it to be the last person he suspected. _Arthur_. It was the Prince calling out to him across the distance.

_I need you. Help me_.

Frowning, Merlin got to his feet and walked outside into the open air, Gwaine hot on his tail. Something didn't feel right. It was nagging him in the back of his mind. Like he'd done this before.

_Please. I can't … please help me_.

"What's the matter?" Gwaine asked and Merlin looked towards the direction of Camelot.

"I don't know," he replied and went back inside. "I need to go," Merlin grabbed his cloak and pulled it on, his clothes turning black underneath. "Stay here and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. The barriers are up around the camp so you should be safe."

"Where are you going?"

"The last place I expected to go." Merlin didn't wait a moment more and transported himself to where Arthur's voice had come from. When he next opened his eyes, he found himself stood in the middle of the throne room of Camelot and over three dozen knights surrounding him. The King and Arthur stood up at the front. "I do not understand," Merlin said to the King and his eyes drifted to look at Arthur. "You called-"

"He called because I made him call." The King replied and Merlin glanced over at Arthur who remained silent. There was such hatred in his eyes that it made the blood in his veins run cold. The Prince had no right to be angry at Merlin, he was the one who betrayed him, not the other way around.

"Ready to apologise for the death of my people?" Merlin replied bitterly and suddenly everything began to click into place. Looking around the room, it looked exactly like it had done when he'd touched Morgause and used his symbol to see her future. Turning his head to the right, he saw her standing in the shadows and he realised the future was coming true. Arthur really had betrayed him.

The King ignored him and got to his feet, "My Son tells me that you are very powerful and that not even I could hold you in my cells. However you are not the only sorcerer here. Under the laws of Camelot, I sentence you to death for the use of magic and enchantments. Do you have any last words sorcerer?"

This was it. The moment when he turned to face his past self and tell him the one thing that wouldn't make a difference. Merlin would always trust Arthur in that single moment when he needed not too. He'd open up his heart for a brief second and it would end the lives of many. When he was younger he was told that no one could change the future, that whatever he saw would come to pass, no matter what he did. However he could do something different.

"You haven't changed a bit Uther Pendragon," Merlin said and Uther frowned at his words. "You think that because you are King that you can do _anything_ you want. You hunt those who use magic and yet have a sorcerer stood at your side to do your bidding …" his words began to trail off as he noticed a necklace hung around Uther's neck, similar to the one Arthur had worn back in camp and he had soon learnt it had been made by magic. Had Morgause used some kind of spell on Uther?

"Are those really your final words Emrys? I expected _more_ from you. Maybe some words of wisdom, I hear you have lived for centuries." Uther commented and Arthur shifted a little at his side, not that Merlin noticed since his attention was on the King.

"Now Uther, you know that's not true, you've known me since I was a little boy." He could feel everyone's eyes on him as he reached for his hood and as it dropped around his shoulders, Merlin couldn't help but notice Arthur reach for his sword. For what reason, Merlin wasn't sure. A small satisfied smile came to his lips as Uther took a step back and the knights took a step forward incase they needed to defend their King. "Nice to see you again Uther Pendragon. It's been a while."

"_Merlin_."

* * *

**I'm sure right now you're confused why Uther knows who 'Emrys' really is. That will be explained in the next chapter. You'll finally get to find out WHY Merlin hates Uther so much. I wonder whether any of you have guessed yet …**

**Expect plenty of drama in the next few chapters as secrets are revealed and the sorcerers come for revenge. Plus Morgause's real plan comes into light.**

**Keep reading and reviewing you lovely people :)**


	17. Revealing A Past

**Revealing A Past**

* * *

Nineteen years ago

Merlin sat outside his home as he stared at the path ahead, waiting for his Mother to appear who had promised to return today. She had gone for help from the King after they'd received a letter warning them of the bandits who had threatened to attack their home. The King would help. He wouldn't just let an entire village go unaided. That wasn't what a King did.

So when he saw her walking towards the village, he leapt from the bench and ran down the path. Throwing himself into her own arms, he felt her arms wrap themselves around him and she buried her head in his neck. "What did he say Mumma? Is he going to send help?" He looked over her shoulder, half expecting to see Camelot's finest knights stood there and waiting to be of service. Except she was alone. "Mumma?"

"I'm afraid the King couldn't afford to help us sweetie," she set him down on the ground and brushed back his black locks. "We're going to have to make do by ourselves. We'll be fine. There are plenty of strong men here to fight and with the women, it'll be easy to defend our home." Merlin looked up at her through his big blue eyes and heard the doubt in her voice. She didn't believe a word she was saying. "How about you run home and start making dinner? I need to go and talk to a few people."

She brushed past him and walked quickly towards the village, a few of the women greeted her before leading her into a nearby home. Rushing down the path, Merlin crept around the back of the home and peered through one of the windows where he could see three women and four men sitting together. His Mother the main focus. "What did he say Hunith?"

"He will not help us. Our village is nothing to him, I shouldn't have bothered, he's more focused on protecting the castle boarders. What are we going to do? They'll attack any day from now." Hunith put her head in her hands, "This is all my fault."

"No! Of course it isn't," one man said and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Merlin shouldn't have done what he did." At the sound of his name, Merlin frowned and climbed onto a nearby crate so he could see better into the room. "He knows he shouldn't use magic outside the village. Yet he did. The bandits are only attacking because of what he did. You are not to blame."

"You're blaming my Son for this? How dare you! He just wanted to help me. We don't have-"

"That's no excuse Hunith. He knows better." This time someone else spoke up and Merlin recognised it to be one of the children's mothers.

"He's eight years old, of course he doesn't know any better. He has no idea what people think of his kind." Merlin ducked beneath the window when someone looked his way and pressed his back to the wall, his ears still hearing what his Mother was saying. "Merlin has no idea that magic is hated by so many, how could he? I've always just said he was special, not that his gifts could get him killed. He used his magic to earn some money for me, we're not the richest of people and he thought he was helping."

"Hunith, he tricked those bandits into thinking-"

"Just shut up!" Hunith stormed over to the window and Merlin looked up to see the window open, her eyes staring out at the view. There was no reason for her to notice him there. "_No one_ is to tell my Son that he's the reason our village is being attacked, am I clear? We're going to get through this and I'll teach him not to use his magic in front of people. It's that simple."

"And the people that get killed during this attack, what about them? Merlin will soon realise that it's his fault anyway. Their families will blame him for the deaths of their loved ones and eventually the truth will get out, it always does. He'll wake up one day an innocent boy and go to sleep with the knowledge of how much blood he has on his hands. We should use his gifts to protect ourselves, at least then he'll be helping fix the mess he's brought upon us."

"He can't use his magic like that. Merlin isn't that powerful. No … we'll manage on our own. Tell everyone we shall meet tonight to talk about our plan of attack. We're not going down without a fight."

* * *

"You should have helped us," came a cold voice from the shadows and Uther looked up from his dinner to look for the source. The knights lining the edges of the room now on guard.

"Who's there?"

"My village is gone because of you," the voice talked again and Uther got to his feet, his eyes thinned as he scanned the edges of the room. "My Mother, who begged for your help, is now dead because of you." Uther was shocked to see a small boy appear out of thin air in the center of his table and his Knights withdrew their swords at the sight of an intruder. "Why did you not help us?"

Uther went through his memories to try to figure out who he was talking about, when the image of a woman begging him to help her village entered his mind, he saw the resemblance. "I'm sorry, I needed my Knights here. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Saying your sorry doesn't make up for the fact you didn't help us," he walked forward and Uther took out his own sword. "Your weapon will do nothing against me Pendragon," he flicked his hand and Uther's eyes widened as his sword was thrown across the room. "Children died because of you. Loved ones burned in their homes because you couldn't spare a few Knights to help us. What kind of King are you?"

"One that executes sorcerer's like you. I was wondering why the bandits wanted to attack your village, the story your Mother made up didn't make sense, now I can see why. They were after you." Uther saw anger cross the young boys face and he smiled, "Why do you blame me when there is no one to blame but yourself?"

Uther was suddenly pinned up against a wall with an invisible force and he watched as his knights did the same, none of them having the strength to break free. The boy walked down the long table and kept going at the same level even when there was no object beneath him. How was he walking on thin air? He'd never seen any sorcerer with that amount of power. "You can try all you want to put the blame on me but deep down you know that it's your fault." Uther tried to make himself appear as big as possible when the boy reached his eye level in a way of intimidating him. It didn't work. "You have the power to help people like my Mother."

A long knife appeared between them and Uther tensed, seeing blood covering the tip from where it had wounded someone previously. "They stuck this right through my Mother's heart when she tried to protect me. That wouldn't have happened if she knew how to defend herself against a guy twice her size." The knife vanished and the sorcerer came close enough to whisper in his ear, "Just remember this. Every time you don't help someone, every time you put your castle above the needs of your people, I'll be there. You should have helped us."

Uther watched as he moved away and dropped to the ground, his small legs taking him towards the exit. "You didn't even tell me your name, how am I meant to know if you're around?"

"My name is Merlin."

* * *

Present day

"_Merlin_."

"So you do remember me," Merlin smiled in satisfaction and noticed the shocked look on Uther's face at the usage of Merlin's real name. "It's been a long time."

"_You_ were Emrys?"

"That's right. Told you I'd be around. I am curious how you recognised me though, I'm not exactly a little boy anymore and it was dark that night."

"Your scar," Uther pointed out and Merlin instinctively ran his fingertips across his face. "So what, you want revenge for the death of your village so you bewitched my Son?"

"Hardly," Merlin took a step forward and smirked as the knights moved in closer. "I was going to leave you be Pendragon. Let you live out your life thinking of me out there in the world, waiting to attack, yet never laying eyes upon me again. However you overstepped the mark when you attacked my camp. They did _nothing_ to deserve it. Innocent lives were gone in an instant because you find it so hard to believe that your Son would go against you laws and talk to people with magic."

"Arthur would never go against me, would you?" Uther asked and Arthur nodded in agreement.

"Funny, he didn't seem to be on your side every time he climbed into my bed." Uther's eyes thinned and he crossed his arms over his chest, not daring to believe such words. "I came here because I thought Arthur needed help, obviously I was wrong, clearly he's turned back into the Prince who follows Daddy's orders." Pulling his hood back over his head, he crossed the distance to reach Arthur and smiled when Arthur tensed up. "I thought you said I could trust you?"

"That was before I learnt you killed my Mother," Arthur whispered and Merlin raised an eyebrow. So that's why Arthur looked at him like that. He was choosing to believe yet another story about him even though he knew that most of the things he heard about 'Emrys' were lies. A firm grasp went around his wrist and amusement fluttered in Merlin's eyes. "You're under arrest."

"You all seem to forget, I'm more powerful than you give me credit for and if I don't want to be somewhere, I don't have to be." Grabbing Arthur by the scruff of the neck, he joined their lips together in a deep kiss and when he pulled away, he smiled. "Good luck explaining that to your Father, you prat. I should never have saved you. Next time you call, I won't come running. I didn't kill your Mother. Every person I have killed has deserved it. You're lucky I haven't killed your Father or most of all, you."

Merlin was gone before anyone could say another word or do anything to stop him.

* * *

Morgause watched from the sidelines as the Knights were ordered to leave the room and the Prince remained where he stood as they left. Her plan was working out perfectly. Soon the Kingdom would be hers. All her hard work would pay off. By tipping off the slave traders where Arthur would be, it set into motion that Emrys would rescue him and Arthur would feel in his debt. The tricky part had been trying to get Emrys to trust Arthur. That's when she had come up with the idea of using the stone on him. Only Arthur would have been able to break it and Merlin would realise that Arthur wasn't as bad as he seemed. The easiest part was putting the seeds of doubt in each of their minds about their relationship.

Now she had stood before her a Prince that no longer trusted Emrys but now no longer had the King's trust. The King had no other heir to take the thrown should his life unexpectedly end and if the Prince was to suddenly go missing, there was no one who would now rescue him. You see, she had heard a prophecy that when the Prince was in great danger and Camelot was on the verge of collapse, Emrys would appear and restore order. That wasn't exactly going to happen when Emrys said he wouldn't come to Arthur's rescue again.

Everything was working out perfectly.

* * *

Merlin stood in the empty land that had once been the path to his home. At first he had returned to his tent to inform Gwaine that everything was fine, a second later he had brought himself here and found he couldn't bring himself to leave. Not once had he come back here since his home had been destroyed. Why would he? It just reminded him of the fact that all the lives lost here that day were indeed his fault. He had told Uther it was his fault, but he was only partly to blame, it had been Merlin who had tricked the bandits with his magic.

Reaching into his pocket, he brought out the small feminine ring his Father had once given his Mother and had been the reason the bandits had scarred his face. However he did not regret protecting the ring. It was the only remaining thing he had of his parents. Well, that and the knife that had been plunged into his Mother's heart. That was kept in a locked box underneath his bed. The ring was on him at all times. It reminded him of why he couldn't be himself around other people and that he should never get close to someone, incase he was unfortunate to lose them.

"You look so sad Emrys," Morgana appeared beside him and he smiled sadly. She had picked up the skills required to harness his magic a lot quicker than the others and Morgana had found a way of using it to track him down. She often found him standing by the lake when he hadn't told anyone where he was going. "What is this place?"

"This is my home," he replied and stepped forward down the familiar path that he could walk in his sleep. His eyes could imagine the running children that had once annoyed him, the adults that talked amongst themselves and laughed about the gossip that was being spread. He could even remember the animals they had kept around the village. All that remained now was the remains of burned down homes and the graves Merlin had dug for his people.

"What happened to everyone?"

"They died during an attack," he admitted and watched as she walked towards his home. What were the chances she'd pick his home? "Don't go in there," he spoke out when she reached to push open the door and she looked back at him in curiosity. "Look anywhere but there Morgana. That's all I ask." Morgana dropped her hand and walked over to the nearest grave that lay a few feet in front of the house. On the stone it read Hunith. Nothing more or nothing less. "Who was this?"

Merlin walked to stand beside her and his eyes traced his Mother's name. He found it sad that whenever he delved into his thoughts and remembered his mother, the first image that appeared was her dying. It was only when he looked past that did he see the good memories. "This was my Mother," he whispered and dropped to his knees, his hand pressed against the untouched soil that covered where his Mother lay.

"I'm sorry that she died," Morgana said and knelt beside him. "How old were you when it happened?"

"Eight," he muttered and dropped his hood as a sign of respect. "Why did you come here Morgana? You know I hate it when you follow me."

"I know you went to Camelot earlier, Gwaine told me. I thought you might want some support. Arthur may have betrayed us but he was still our friend. No one should have to face that alone. Including you. See, I've been watching you. You act all emotionless and cut off, there's not a single person you let in, yet when nobodies looking, you get this look in your eye …" she looked at him softly, "Like you need someone to hold your hand." Morgana reached sideways and took ahold of his gloved hand.

"I don't need anyone," Merlin replied.

"Everyone needs someone and I have a feeling that your _someone_ isn't exactly here right now. So, I'm going to be here instead. I may not be much use to you but I'm here to listen, if you need to talk. You did after all save my life, the least I could do is listen to what you have to say." Merlin looked down at her with wide eyes and seeing for once that someone wasn't trying to trick him, he smiled. Morgana was honestly just trying to be there for him.

"When did you start sounding so grown up?" Merlin asked and she shrugged, leaning against his side as she turned her eyes back to the grave in front of them. "Thank you Morgana. It means a lot."

* * *

Arthur turned over in his bed for what felt like the hundredth time that night. A few things weren't adding up. When his Father had looked at Merlin, he hadn't appeared angry, if anything there had been a bit of fear in his voice when the sorcerer had begun to speak. If Merlin had really killed his Mother, wouldn't his Father want to personally kill him? Instead they'd just talked and his Father wasn't exactly the talking type. Instead it had been Merlin who looked angry.

He was still finding it hard to believe Merlin had come when he called. For a brief second he'd been happy when Merlin appeared, but the memory of Morgause telling him about his Mother resurfaced and his anger had returned. Now he didn't know what to feel.

His Father had demanded that he should return to his chambers and remain there for the rest of the day, not wanting to look at Arthur after what had happened. In someways he was grateful. He had no idea how he was meant to explain why Merlin had kissed him since he didn't even know the reason himself. Now so many questions were going through his mind that it was impossible to sleep.

What if Morgause hadn't been telling the truth? What if Merlin was innocent and Arthur had just ruined whatever chances he had at making things right with the sorcerer? It was clear that if he ever called again, Merlin wouldn't come running. Right now, Arthur was completely alone and no one to turn too. It just made him think that this was how Merlin had felt for most of his life.

* * *

**Tada, there we have the first question answered of how Uther knows Merlin. I'm not 100% happy with how I wrote it but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. If Morgause's plan doesn't make sense, I understand why. It was hard to right it out without it sounding complicated. Basically she wanted Merlin to hate Arthur enough to not want to help him :S**

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews and keep R&R xx**


	18. Avoiding A Subject

**Avoiding A Subject**

* * *

Warning; contains very minor slash in part of this chapter which isn't vital to read so if it's not your kind of thing, skip the part with ()()()()()() above and below it.

* * *

"I've never seen you train so hard Arthur, got something on your mind?" Leon asked as they walked away from the training grounds and Arthur shrugged, trying to look casual when inside he was screaming the person's name he was itching to talk about. "Maybe it's because you have pent up frustration from going back to that Druid camp for so long. Must have been hard to accept they cast a spell on you."

"Is that what my Father is telling everyone?"

"Well, it's true isn't it? You seriously can't tell me you went back there by choice." His fellow knight set down his shield and handed his sword over to a servant who had been waiting on the sidelines. "Arthur, what's going on?"

"Can we just not talk about it," Arthur muttered and after chucking down his sword and shield, he stormed back towards the castle with Leon rushing after him.

"If you went back by choice, there must have been a good reason right? Wanted to get to know the enemy and their plans, yeah?" Leon asked and Arthur's hand clenched into a fist. He was right about one part; he did want to get to know someone. Now that had been taken from him.

After days of tossing and turning in his bed, Arthur had finally come to the conclusion that Morgause had been lying. That Merlin was in fact innocent. However, when he had ridden out towards the Druid camp yesterday, it was gone. Not even the ground where it had been had been touched. It was like it had never existed. "Leon, I don't want to talk about it."

A hand grabbed his arm and forced him to turn around, "You need to talk about it Arthur. Otherwise all our Knights are going to end up with swords through their chests at training practice at the rate you're going. Tell me what happened back at that camp. I told myself that when Emrys didn't attack you it was because you hadn't harmed him yet, maybe I was mistaken, maybe he's the reason you stayed there." When Arthur didn't respond again, Leon smiled a little, "I'm thinking that I am in fact right about that."

"You don't know what you're talking about. I didn't stay there for Emrys."

"Then why did you stay?"

"I stayed because that idiotic Merlin looked at me with more care in his eyes then my Father ever did. Happy now?" Shoving his arm off, Arthur threw open the castle doors and went straight towards his chambers, however the door didn't close after him when he threw it back, instead Leon stopped it with ease. Both men stood in silence as Arthur got his breath back and gripped the back of a seat at his table, his eyes closed as he tried to block out the image of Merlin looking at him.

"Did you fall in love with this Merlin guy?" Leon asked quietly.

"Even if I did, it doesn't matter. It's over. They're gone and I'm stuck here."

A comforting hand landed on his shoulder and Arthur glanced back to see Leon looking at him softly, "If Merlin feels half of what you seem to feel, I'm sure you'll find each other again. Some might even call it destiny." Leon gently squeezed his shoulder and then left him to his own thoughts.

That lasted all of two seconds when suddenly Arthur wasn't alone anymore. Stood in the center of his room was a cloaked figure who's eyes darted around the place in confusion, however the moment they met Arthur's, anger replaced that emotion and Arthur felt his stomach sink. He'd give anything for those blue eyes to look at him like they did all those days ago. However right now, all he could ask himself was; what on earth was Merlin doing in his chambers?

* * *

"What if we just pop up in the throne room and go 'Hello your Majesty' and then just-" one of the men bashed his fist against his palm and smiled "-showed him we don't need magic to take him down." Merlin watched as some of the other men laughed and he sighed, leaning his head back against the wall to now stare at the ceiling. They had been discussing tactics on how to take revenge and it felt like it had been going on for hours.

"We should cast a spell to make darkness cover Camelot, that would freak them all out."

"That's stupid. None of them are afraid of the dark. They're Knights not children."

"Well I don't see you coming up with any better ideas Modred."

"Shut up Morgana, when we want advice from a girl we'll ask for it."

"Hey! They're are other girls here too you know!" Gwen now spoke up.

"Well you should be somewhere else … making food for us! I'm starving!"

Merlin stepped forward into the light and everyone fell silent, nobody daring to speak a word when he obviously was about to speak. "Everyone is tired and our plans are becoming more ridiculous by the second. If we want to think of a plan for revenge, we need clear minds and we've spent a lot of the day building our new home. Lets go to our homes, have some dinner and come back in a few hours. Sound okay?"

They nodded and slowly they began to leave the building they'd decided to call their council chambers. Not that there was a council yet. It was just the biggest room they had to all be in at the same time. A few days ago they had moved from their camp and Merlin had brought them here. It was a wide open spaced part of land and after demonstrating how to build a home using their magic, he'd let them get on with it. This afternoon had been the first talk about revenge since the move. It hadn't exactly gone to plan.

Emerging from the building himself, he was just about to call out to Gwaine and ask him something when a big gust of wind appeared in the middle of their new home out of nowhere. Morgause now stood where the wind had picked up and Merlin instantly put up a barrier in front of the people stood around her. His people may have gotten some of his magic, but they weren't ready to take on her. "What do you want?" Merlin asked her.

"_Arthur_ sent me, he wants to see you."

Her hand shot out and before Merlin could raise a barrier around himself, he was transported back to Camelot. When he next opened his eyes he found himself stood in the middle of a room and it was only when he turned around did he see Arthur stood on the other side of the table. Anger overcame him at the thought of Arthur thinking he could just summon Merlin whenever he pleased and before he could stop himself, his magic threw the table across the room. Leaving nothing but air between the two boys.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur asked.

"What do you mean 'what are you doing here?' I'm the one who was forced to come here by your sorcerer! Do you think this is some kind of game? That you can just make me come here at the click of your finger and I'll do anything you say-"

"I didn't make you come here Merlin. You're the one who appeared out of nowhere."

"Stop lying!" Merlin yelled and Arthur was thrown up against a wall, his body held by an invisible force just like his Father had been all those years ago. "I let you into my home, let you live amongst my people and they treated you like family. In gratitude, you led the Knights straight to us and now half my camp is dead. The elder is dead because of you. If that wasn't bad enough, you then call for my help and I get greeted with a death sentence. I should kill you right now."

"Then do it," Arthur simply replied.

"What?"

"If you honestly believe that I betrayed you, kill me. I admit that I shouldn't have summoned you that day, I was angry and upset. However I did not tell those Knights where you were. Those people are not dead because of me." Merlin didn't realise he had moved so close to Arthur and he was within touching distance, if he had a weapon on him he could just stab it into Arthur's chest. Finish this once and for all. "Kill me Merlin. You know the kind of man that I am, so after all this time, if you think I could harm all those innocent people, kill me. You don't even have to keep me trapped. I won't defend myself."

"Why are you saying all these things?"

"Because I want to prove to you that I didn't do it," Arthur stated. Merlin didn't register that his spell had worn off and he didn't back away as Arthur raised his hand to cup the side of his face. "I didn't do it Merlin. I swear to you. You can trust me."

()()()()()()()()()()

_Trust no one_.

That statement ran through his mind and he hesitated for a moment, those big blue eyes staring at him reminding him of when they'd been stood in the forest. When Arthur had told Merlin he could trust him. It was the same now. So why on earth was he about to fall for it again?

He didn't have a chance to say anything else. Arthur had closed the small distance between them and his lips crashed down onto Merlin's. The young sorcerer grabbed Arthur by his top and pulled him closer, ignoring the thoughts in his head screaming at him to stop, instead he followed his heart. Arthur responded just as enthusiastically and pushed Merlin backwards until the back of his legs hit the bed, neither thinking of the consequences of what was happening.

"Lie down," Arthur muttered against Merlin's lips and the warlock lay back on the bed without breaking away from Arthur. One hand traveled up Merlin's chest and untied the string holding the cloak around him. It was pushed off his shoulders a moment later and Merlin wrapped his arms around Arthur's neck, his fingers pulling off the black leather gloves that stopped him from being able to touch Arthur.

()()()()()()()()()()

The moment his hand gently touched the back of Arthur's neck through his hair, the Prince tensed up and pushed away from the bed. A shocked expression on his face. "What were you doing?" Arthur asked and he moved his own hand to touch the back of his neck.

"I thought that was obvious," Merlin replied as he sat up on Arthur's bed.

"Were you going to use your symbols on me?"

"Excuse me?"

"Were you going to look into my past?"

"Why-"

"Just answer the question Merlin."

* * *

Arthur stared at Merlin who remained on his bed. He couldn't believe Merlin had tried to look into his past or worse, his future. Was he trying to see if Arthur was any threat to him? Learn a weakness his Father might have by looking into Arthur's memories?

"Do you seriously think I want to use these?" Merlin showed him the symbols and then grabbed his gloves, pulling them on aggressively to cover them up. "I can't believe you told me to trust you when you don't even trust me. Question is; why don't you want me looking into your memories? Got something to hide?"

Arthur froze and tired to look casual. He did have a point, Arthur didn't want him to look into his memories. He might see what he'd been talking to Leon about earlier. "I have nothing to hide. I just would have thought you'd ask rather than use your magic."

"No, you're hiding something." Merlin pushed himself off the bed and put his cloak back on, taking a step towards Arthur with anger beginning to appear in his eyes. "Maybe you don't want me to see the fact that you did betray me. That you did lead those Knights to the camp that day."

"I told you-"

"Then why don't you let me see for myself? Show me that I can trust you." Merlin took off his glove and revealed the closed eye symbol, he was really going to use it.

"No, Merlin! You should take my word for it. I believed you when you said you didn't kill my mother, why don't you believe me now?"

"Not surprisingly, I have reasons to not trust a Pendragon. You on the other hand have no reason not to trust me. I have never harmed you or given you reason to think I'd kill someone that didn't deserve it." Merlin kept coming forward and Arthur was pressed back against the wall, a hand an inch from his face, his breathing now coming to a halt. "Look how scared you are that I'll actually do it. I don't need to look to know you betrayed me. It's written across your face."

"Merlin wait-" He was gone. Again. Arthur really needed to find a way to stop him doing that. He never stuck around long enough to actually talk things through. Running his hands through his hair in frustration, he moved away from the wall and a smile came to his face when he heard movement behind him. "You came back." Except when he turned around it wasn't Merlin who faced him. It was Morgause.

The smile upon her lips was enough to tell him that he was in deep trouble.

* * *

"Arh! I am such an idiot!"

Merlin threw his cloak down onto his bed along with his gloves, wishing that he would stop falling for those blue eyes and realise that Arthur was just like everyone else. They were all out to use him or betray him. In the process of pacing the room, Merlin kicked his foot against the bed and let out a yell. Falling back on the bed, he clutched his foot and wished that for once he could just be … normal. That all he had to worry about was the pain emitting from his foot and not the Prince back in Camelot.

Dropping his foot to hang off the bed, Merlin stared at the ceiling and raised his hand. One of his symbols staring back at him. To this day he still wasn't sure whether he was happy he got the two symbols on his hands. So far all they had caused more trouble then been used to help people. He could still remember getting them. How painful it had been and how he had wished for death during the days his hands were healing.

It had been a year after he'd seen his Mother die before his very eyes. He had sought after a man who was said to be able to gift him with the power to see the future and past. Merlin had believed with that ability, he would never again have to go through what he had, that he'd be able to prevent future deaths from happening. However instead of finding a man, he had found a dragon that could talk, who had told him things that to this day he didn't understand.

When the dragon had breathed fire onto his hands, Merlin had begged him to stop, telling the dragon he had changed his mind. That it had felt worse than when his Mother had died. Once it was over, he had looked at the symbols with curiosity and asked how they worked. Turned out he couldn't use them on himself unless someone touched him. Basically he could see someone's past or future if he touched them and the same if they touched him, which he obviously didn't let happen. Until Arthur.

"Stop thinking about him!"

Rolling onto his front, he hung his head off the bed and stared at the floor. He felt utterly pathetic. If anyone could see the almighty Emrys now, they'd laugh. His reputation would be ruined. Merlin pushed his hair from his head and was interrupted when there was a knock on the door downstairs. Sighing with irritation, Merlin pulled his gloves back on and ran down the many staircases. Unlike everyone else, he could easily build homes with his magic and therefore his was many stories tall. Somehow it had ended up in the shape of a hat. How that had happened he'd never figure it out.

When he opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of Gwen, Lancelot and Gwaine smiling at him. All of them claiming they were starving and that Merlin made the best food, even though they'd never once shared a meal. Merlin simply let them inside and looked outside for a brief second, finding that if he wanted to forget about Arthur's big blue eyes, he needed to distract himself.

* * *

**Short but Sweet chapter here. Hope you enjoyed.**

**My last exam is tomorrow so I'll be updating ALL my stories on a regular basis from now on. Please Review since I'll no doubt need something to cheer me up tomorrow before and after my exam.**

**Until next time.**


	19. Taking A Kingdom

**Taking A Kingdom**

* * *

Days had passed since the news had spread of the Prince's disappearance. The King had sent knights out through the land in hope of finding the Druid camp he suspected he might be, however when not a trace was found of the camp or the Prince, Uther had begun to suspect something else was going on. One of Arthur's most trusted Knights, Leon, had told Uther that the Prince had not given off the impression that he was going to leave and that no one had been in the room with him when he had left him alone. In the King's eyes, magic had to be involved.

So now he sat on his throne and waited for any news that his Son had been found. Although he had said he'd had his doubts about Arthur becoming King, Arthur was still his only heir to the throne and without him, the line of Pendragon's ended. Once news reached the outer Kingdoms that Camelot was without a Prince, it would only be a matter of time before they attempted to take Camelot over by force and kill the only remaining Pendragon left.

"Leave us," Morgause told the Knights and a small nod from Uther made them leave the hall. Leaving the two of them alone. "Is there anything I can do for you Sire? Do you need anything?"

"I need to find my Son," he replied and sat up straight. "There must be some kind of spell you can use. A tracking spell or a finding spell."

"I'm sorry Sire, but it is impossible."

"What about Merlin? Can you find him? Maybe he can find Arthur."

"He would not help us. After what we did, I doubt he would help Arthur even if they were in the same room and if it was you asking, there would be no chance. I'm sure Arthur will turn up. No harm will come to him."

"What do you mean, no harm will come to him? He's the crowned Prince of Camelot. There are sorcerer's out there who would pay handsomely for his head and every one of them is against me. Magic corrupts them. They could use it against Arthur. Turn him against me. It's times like these that I wish I was more vigilant in the past when unusual things occurred. I could have killed so many more sorcerers and lessened the threat against our Kingdom."

"You are right about _one_ thing your majesty," Morgause said cooly and Uther got to his feet when she waved her hand. A trunk of gold appeared beside her and a smile lit up her face. "Your Son was worth a lot of gold when I sold him."

"It was you?" Uther withdrew his sword and glared furiously at her.

"Couldn't have him being here to take the throne when I killed you now could I?" Morgause flicked her hand and the trunk vanished. "Camelot is mine for the taking," she rubbed her hands together and Uther moved away from her when the gold flash went through her eyes. "_Cwylmian_," she cast the spell before Uther could call for the guards and the spell hit him right in the chest. The life left him a moment later and his dead body hit the floor, his sword lying beside him. "Long live the King," Morgause muttered and kicked him lightly with her foot. Finally Camelot would be hers.

* * *

"Emrys!" Stirring from the darkness, Merlin lifted his head from his pillow and squinted as he got used to the light flooding the room. "EMRYS!" His name was yelled louder now and he growled. Did none of these people understand that he was tired? Unbeknown to them, he'd spent the past few days searching for the lost Prince and had barely slept between that and planning to take revenge out on Uther. "You better get your ass down here before I come get you myself." Gwaine was downstairs now and by the sounds of it, he was already making his way upstairs.

"Alright, I'm coming." Merlin sent a spell to block the staircase and a growl of frustration came from the man downstairs. Pushing off his duvet, he pulled on some clean clothes and grabbed his gloves that were found on the bedside table. Taking the steps slowly, he ran a hand through his messy hair and wondered what could be urgent enough that Gwaine found it necessary to wake him up. "Want to tell me why I'm up so early?" Merlin asked when he reached the bottom step.

"There's a Knight outside, claiming that he needs to talk to you … Morgana might have killed him by now though-" he had already pushed open his front door and saw that Gwaine was right. There stood a Knight, one he recognised and he distinctively remembered this Knight stabbing him with a sword. He looked out of breath and there was magic flowing around him, obviously his fellow sorcerers were keeping him contained incase he tried anything. "Told you so," Gwaine said and stepped forward to go and stand with Lancelot.

"Emrys?"

"Who else?"

"You haven't …" the Knight looked him up and down. Merlin then realised that he was probably unrecognisable without his cloak on. "The King is dead by Morgause's hand," he got out between breaths and Merlin frowned. Uther was dead? "She has taken over Camelot. The other Knights … they act like she is their Queen. An immortal army surrounds the boarders to stop anyone from entering or leaving. You have to help us."

"If there is an immortal army preventing movement around the boarders, how did you escape? Plus how did you find us? Again."

"I've been looking for you ever since she took over. I guess I just got lucky. As to how I got away, there are passageways under the Kingdom and only a few people know about them, me included. I know that we have done nothing to deserve your help, but she is killing innocent people, children included. Without Arthur to rule, there is no one left to challenge her authority." Merlin studied him and saw that he didn't look like he expected any help, there was just exhaustion in his eyes.

"Gwen," he called her out from the crowd and she smiled in return. "Find him something to eat and drink, then let him get some rest. He's traveled a long way to get to us." Merlin waved his hand and the restraints around him vanished as he overpowered the sorcerer's holding him. Gwen lead him towards a nearby house, along with Lancelot, and the other people got back to doing what they were doing before the interruption. Gwaine on the other hand looked over at him.

"What are you going to do? Are you going to help Camelot?"

"There's no point helping a Kingdom that doesn't have a Prince. My priority is finding him."

* * *

"You _really_ think someone's coming for you?" The old man laughed and Arthur stared at the floor, ignoring the pain emitting through his body from the torture it had been put through the past week. "I know last time you got away from me it was dumb luck, this time you won't be so lucky. Not a single soul will be searching for you Arthur Pendragon, not whilst Camelot is under attack."

"Then why keep me alive?"

"I'm in the slave trading business, anyone would pay thousands to have you as their own personal slave, especially those magic folk. Imagine having the power to order the Prince around after everything his Father put their kind through. The amount I paid for you was nothing compared to what I'll get in return."

"You think I won't try to escape?"

"I'd like to see you try and escape a sorcerer," the man crouched down in front of him. "I bet even the almighty Emrys would pay good money to get you to be his slave."

"Oh you have no idea how wrong you are."

A wrinkled hand patted his cheek and Arthur winced as a scar made by one of the old guys rings when he was hit was touched, the wound still open and raw after only being made yesterday. "Well the auction is happening tomorrow. There's no way I'm going to wait for an offer, let them battle it out, see how much I can squeeze out of them. Be on your best behavior."

Arthur was left alone in his cell and he looked down at his hands that were in chains, the skin raw as well as bruised. It was times like these he needed Morgana with him. At least when he'd first been captured she had been there to tend to his wounds. Now he was alone.

The first days of being held captive had been the worst. The old man had beaten him until he was unconscious, yelling that no one made him look like a fool and Arthur was lucky he was alive. Now he knew why. He was to be sold like so many before him had been. It was fine though, once he got his strength back, he'd escape and go home. If Camelot really was under attack, his Father would need his help, that is if he wasn't already too late.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the one and only Prince of Camelot." Arthur was shoved onto some form of stage and he staggered forwards, the blinding light stopping him from being able to see the crowd below. "He's strong. Loyal. Determined. Handsome and for all you lovely ladies out there, a charmer. Whether it's someone to mop your floors or fulfill your every desire, this is the guy to have. Want revenge on the King? Why not take it out on his Son?"

Great. No doubt all the sorcerer's who's lives had been ruined by his Father were in this room and he was ripe for the picking. After being trapped for so long without any real food of water, without any treatment for his wounds, Arthur could barely even think straight, let alone devise a plan to get out of here before he could even be taken anywhere. Now he would have to stand here and listen to how much he was worth.

"Lets start the bidding at ten thousand pieces of gold shall we?"

"Eleven thousand!"

"Twenty thousand!"

"One hundred thousand!"

How these people even had that much money was beyond him, they were saying figures even his Father would struggle to beat and he was the King. Arthur didn't listen to anymore numbers and tried to get his vision to adjust to the light. If he could see who he was dealing with, maybe he'd have a better chance. Lifting his shackled hands, he rubbed his eyes and squinted, seeing for himself that hundreds of people stood on the ground below. His eyes widened when he realised that he wouldn't get out of here alive if he attempted to escape.

All of a sudden the room went quiet and Arthur could just about see the crowd parting down the center, and right in the middle, amongst all the brightly coloured sorcerers, stood a man dressed in a long black cloak with his hood up over his head. His heart leapt from his chest at the thought that it was Merlin coming to rescue him and his feet even took him a step forward, except a hand pressed against his chest as the old man stepped from out behind the stand to stop him moving.

"We have been graced with the presence of the almighty Emrys. The man who has saved so many of us from the King's evil grasp." A round of applause could be heard along with some cheers and Arthur felt his hopes sink. Merlin wouldn't be here to save him. Not after everything he had done. Especially not after what the King had done to him. "It is said he has lived for centuries. That he has wandered our world like a ghost and has riches beyond anyones wildest dreams. It is rumoured that he has a burning hatred for the likes of Arthur Pendragon. Imagine if he could have him as a slave. The revenge he could take out on him."

A murmur of agreement followed and Arthur noticed a few people putting away small bags of money, were they like Merlin's tent in the sense that they were bigger on the inside? "Let me ask you Emrys, how much are you willing to offer in order for Arthur Pendragon to become your personal slave?" There was a glint of pleasure in the old man's eyes, no doubt thinking of ways to spend the money he was about to receive. "Speak up Emrys, in exchange for this man-"

"I will allow you to live." Silence followed and the space around Merlin grew, sorcerer's fearing the man hidden beneath the cloak.

"You may be powerful Emrys, but you're in a room filled with sorcerers. I doubt even you could defeat them all." The old man looked at the sorcerers and some of them stood taller, clearly agreeing with him. Whilst others backed away. "You can't think this one man could defeat all of you, can you?"

"I will say this _once_," Merlin began to say as he walked towards them, "Any person in here that I have ever saved, that owe me their lives, I am now collecting that debt. Leave now and never again will I call upon you to help me. You can sleep at night and know that the almighty Emrys won't be coming to collect." By the time Merlin reached the stage, most of the room was empty and only a couple of dozen remained. Had he really helped that many people? "Now, either give me the Prince or be killed, I'll get him either way so I'm not bothered which option you chose."

The old man looked back at him and then at Merlin. At first he looked like he was going to tell Emrys that there was no way he was getting the Prince, but when he sighed, Arthur knew he had been saved. "Take him."

* * *

Merlin transported them to his room back at his new home and the Prince passed out the moment they arrived. Using little magic, he lifted Arthur onto the bed and tucked him in. Making sure that he was warm and his wounds were healed nicely. All he needed now was to rest and get a decent meal inside him, but at least he was safe.

When he had seen Arthur stood on that stage, Merlin had wanted to kill every soul standing around him for even daring to bid for him, he couldn't help but think Arthur is mine whenever the amount went up. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore and let his presence be known. Now here they were. The Prince was safe and they had a Kingdom to save. Merlin just didn't know how yet. Morgause had an immortal army at her disposal, how on earth was he meant to defeat that?

As if answering his question, his hand heated up and Merlin pulled off his glove to see the open eye looking back at him. It wanted to be used to see into the future. To show Merlin what was to come. Except he had never used it for himself before. It had only been used to help others. What kind of person would he be if he looked into his own future? Wasn't that seen as cheating?

"Merlin?" Arthur stirred from his unconscious state and Merlin knelt by his bedside.

"Hey, I'm here. You're safe." He reached forward to take the Prince's hand but hesitated when his symbol glowed, he couldn't look into his future unless Arthur touched him, which was highly unlikely at this point. Considering how they left things. "Get some rest. You've been through a lot." Merlin turned to leave but his hand was grasped, Arthur's eyes a little wider and staring at Merlin softly.

"You came for me."

"Somehow I always end up coming to your rescue, you prat." Merlin said on the edge of the bed and watched as the symbol began to transfer onto Arthur's hand. This was it. He'd see his future. It would show him what was going to happen and whether everything would be okay. "Time for you to go to sleep. I can't let you see this." He brushed back Arthur's hair and with a quiet whisper, the Prince was put under a spell to put him into a deep sleep. If things were going to go badly, Merlin didn't want him around to see it.

As the room was covered in a blinding light, Merlin clutched Arthur's hand tightly and took a deep breath. He could do this. Everything would be fine. They would be fine. He had to believe that they'd come out of this in one piece. With that in mind, he slowly turned where he sat and opened the eyes he hadn't realised had briefly closed. That's when his eyes looked at a sight that made his heart stop dead in his chest.

Because lying on the floor, in a pool of blood, was Merlin.

* * *

**MY EXAMS ARE OVER! I've spent most of the day tidying up things and finishing off homework that are due tomorrow. However all stories will be updated tomorrow.**

**Please keep reviewing! I really hope to reach 200 by the end of chapter 20, not long now!**

**Hope you enjoyed! Until next time.**

**Oh, btw, there's gunna be a point soon where you go 'well surely Merlin could stop that and be all powerful' but that would make the story boring, wouldn't it? He has to have SOME weaknesses. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that he can't beat everything.**


	20. Devising A Plan

**Devising A Plan**

* * *

Merlin watched as Morgause came to crouch down at his side, her eyes filled with joy as the power overflowed her and she watched Merlin die. By the looks of it, she had used his own spell against him and used blood magic to take the power from him. The question was; why had he let her? It was not a secret that he was powerful, most spells were nothing but breathing to him and spells that took dozens of sorcerers to cast, well … he had started casting when he was a child.

So why had he let Morgause harm him enough to take his magic. There was no one around them, no indication of a great battle that could have just occurred and no weapons lying by his body to show how she had caused the injury. "Oh how the mighty have fallen," Morgause teased and brushed the hair away from his face to reveal his scar. "I can feel your magic mixing with my own Emrys-" she paused briefly "-or should I call you Merlin? Seeing as we're practically blood related. Get it?"

"I'd laugh but somehow I just can't find the strength to do so," his future self replied quietly and her smile faded a little.

"You had no idea how powerful you were did you? Otherwise you would have used your magic a long time ago to take out revenge against those who sought to harm you. Not even I could imagine such power lay within you. My head is spinning from what I'm feeling." She got to her feet and twirled around, her arms spread out with joy. "If this is what you feel every day, I'm surprised you don't smile more often."

"You'll find having that amount of power isn't enough in life. That smile will disappear when you find there in not a single person in this world who loves you. You will die alone Morgause and all the power in the world can't stop that from happening."

The image faded as his symbol returned to his hand and he wondered why it hadn't let him see more, or maybe that was the point. Those words could have been his last and after that, there was no more future to see. "So I die …" he whispered and looked down at the sleeping Prince who had no idea what he'd just allowed Merlin to see. By the time Arthur woke up, Merlin would be gone and that would be the end of them. He'd never get the chance to see if there was more to life then running. Merlin could have finally found someone to be happy with.

Finding himself leaning down without much thought, Merlin rested his forehead against Arthur's and a sad smile came to his lips. "Why is it, that after everything, I still cannot find the strength to hate you?" Merlin asked the unconscious body and his eyes fell shut as he pressed a light kiss to Arthur's lips. "My last thoughts will be of you," he admitted and his blue eyes opened. An idea coming to mind. Moving away from the bed, he picked up the small piece of parchment from his bedside table that he read every night before he slept and turned it over.

It didn't take long to write the few words that couldn't be said verbally and Merlin slipped the note into Arthur's hand, hoping he wouldn't hate him for doing this. Arthur would be upset when he found out Merlin went alone, that he hadn't bothered to take any backup, but that was the way it had to be. How it had always been. Merlin had been given his gifts for a reason and he had a feeling that this was why. So he could survive everything and protect a Prince that would one day become a great King.

Leaving the sleeping Prince, Merlin walked down the steps silently and paused when he reached one of the lower floors. If Morgause was going to use blood magic against him and Merlin let her, there had to be a valid reason. He wouldn't let anyone have that amount of power unless he had a plan. As his brain tried to think of something, his eyes moved along his shelves and landed on a small stone that had caused him so much trouble in the past. All because of Morgause.

There had to be a way to beat her. Somehow. Someway.

* * *

_"We meet again," a sinister voice broke the silence of the cell and Arthur lifted his head from the cold floor to see an old man approaching him. "When Morgause approached me and said she could get me the Prince of Camelot, I could barely believe my luck. After what happened … after you left me standing there like a fool, I tried to think of a way to get you back in my domain. Now I have."_

_"I suppose you want revenge or something pathetic like that?"_

_"Well normally my revenge is usually carried out by my men and ends up with your dead body at my feet. However this is a special case. You are royalty after all." Arthur pushed himself up from the ground and got to his feet, his head held high as he stared down at the small man. "You deserve special treatment." He didn't even get a chance to defend himself as a metal bar was pressed against his leg and the smell of burning flesh hit his nostrils, the blinding pain causing him to fall to his knees. "We are going to have a lot of fun Arthur Pendragon._

* * *

"It's a suicide mission," Gwaine said firmly as Merlin packed a bag filled with his most treasured belongings. If he really did die, he couldn't afford for anyone to get ahold of these and it meant taking them somewhere that they'd never be found. "Emrys, will you listen to me, if you go there, you might as well give her a sword to plunge into your heart. You're not immortal. If she doesn't kill you, that army will."

"That's where I need your help." Setting the bag on the floor, he approached the young man and grasped his shoulders. "You have been what I'd like to think of as a friend over the past few days. I'm not one for crowds and you have made me smile when I felt like all hope was lost. So I'm going to trust you with an idea that I need you to carry out after I'm gone."

"His royal highness can't do this?"

Merlin glanced over at the stairs and then shook his head, his hands falling down at his sides. "Arthur won't wake up for a few days. By the time his eyes open, I'll be long gone and the help I need from you will need to have been carried out. Now, can I count on you?"

"You've been the only friend I've ever had," Gwaine admitted and smiled. Merlin knew then that after he was gone, when everything had returned to normal, Gwaine would be here in his place to look after everyone. He may not have magic or the power to help people, but he was a born leader and his loyalty would take him far. "Now tell me of this plan of yours."

* * *

Pushing open the back door, Merlin slipped inside the small house where Morgana lived with Gwen and he noticed them both sat in the front room, talking about something he had never had the luxury of discussing. Love. Sending a mental push to Morgana, she glanced over at him and excused herself, leaving Gwen to read a book as she waited for her return.

"Emrys, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be with the Prince."

"I have something important to do and need to ask you for a favour," he said quietly and knelt down so he was at eye level with her.

"Anything."

"I need you to forgive Arthur," Merlin said and she went to protest until she saw his stern look. "It was not his fault that the Knights attacked our home. He did not know that they'd kill anyone and the elder's death is not his fault either. If it's anyones fault, it's mine. I did not act quick enough, protect you all enough and now I will make up for that." He gently brushed the hair from her face and smiled, "He'll need you when I'm gone."

"Where are you going?"

"It does not matter. However Arthur won't be seeing me again and after everything you two went through, he sees you as family. You can heal the wounds that others cannot and I don't mean with your magic. Your kind words and comforting touch will help in ways that will help him become a great King. I can't be there for him and need to know you'll be there to watch over him."

"Okay … I will." Merlin pressed a light kiss to her forehead in gratitude and he got to his feet, but not before her tiny had grasped hers. "I know it's not said enough and that we all expect you to protect us without question … I just want to say, thank you, Emrys. Thank you for all the lives you've saved."

"Merlin."

"What?"

"My name, it's Merlin." He put his hand softly on her head and Merlin prevented emotions from overtaking him, "Don't go spreading it around though. Have a reputation to uphold after all." A small laugh escaped Morgana's lips and she released his hand so he could leave. "Take care of the others for me too," he added and then left.

Morgana would watch over Arthur in ways he could no longer do. She would grow into a strong, independent woman and a smile appeared on his face at the thought of her bossing Arthur around. He'd have his work cut out with her.

* * *

_Arthur bit his lower lip as his body was lowered into a tub filled with ice and his wounds screamed out in pain from the change in temperature. It was the third day since his arrival and his body had never been covered in so many injuries. The last time he'd been here, it had been a few major wounds, now it was lots of little ones that were there simply to cause him pain rather than kill him._

_"Not too cold I hope?"_

_"Perfect," Arthur remarked through chattering teeth and clutched the edge of the tub tightly._

_"Good. I had a thought this morning that you hadn't had a chance to clean yourself and I ordered a bath to be drawn for you, obviously my men don't understand that it was meant to be hot water. I'm sure back at the palace you'd have people's heads for getting this kind of thing wrong." The old man came forward and peered down at him happily, "I'm not such a cruel man."_

_Hours later, Arthur couldn't feel any part of his body and his skin had gone blue. That wasn't a good sign. The men had even left him alone at one point, knowing that he was too cold to even move and now they filed back into the room. The old man at the rear. He came over and tapped Arthur's arm, finding the skin hard and frozen. "You're like frozen meat." Arthur could only glare._

_"Lets see how frozen you really are," he went down to Arthur's feet and lifted them from the tub. His fingers delicately trailed across the stone cold toes. "Which toe is your favourite? I want to leave that one until last." Horror filled him at the thought of his toes being removed and he attempted to speak, however his lips were froze together. "What was that now? Your big toe is your least favourite? I'll get right on that then."_

* * *

His eyes shot open before any more of his memories could replay in his mind and he sat up in bed, throwing the covers off to look down at his toes that all remained. Luckily that day the old man had had lots of customers for his other captives and one had arrived just before any of Arthur's toes could be removed. He'd been chucked back into his cell which had felt like a sauna after being in the tub and eventually his body had returned back to normal temperature.

Looking around the room he found himself in, he realised he didn't recognise it and wondered where the hell he was. "What are you doing away?" A voice broke the silence and he looked to his right to see Morgana sat there reading a small book. "Merlin said you wouldn't wake for days."

"Merlin?"

"I mean Emrys," she corrected herself and set the book down. "You should go back to sleep. You've been through a lot and your body might not be able to handle anything else. Lie back down." Morgana got to her feet and crawled onto the other side of the bed, her tiny hands pushing against his chest to make him fall back. "There, now close your eyes and I'll tell you a story."

"Since when did you start calling Merlin, well, Merlin?"

"It doesn't matter. He told me to look after you so that's what I'm doing. So unless you want to get me into trouble, close those blue eyes and go back to sleep." Arthur frowned and did as asked, seeing no reason to fight her. After all, she was talking to him, that was a definite improvement after what had happened in camp with the attack.

Neither of them noticed the small piece of parchment falling to the ground and under the bed.

* * *

"I didn't think you'd actually come here by yourself," Morgause said from where she sat on the throne and Merlin flicked his hand so the doors closed behind him. "Where are the troops? Where's Arthur? I'm sure by now you've found him and done your duty in bringing him home."

"Arthur is safe and this Kingdom will be his when he's back to full health. I have come to make sure his Kingdom it waiting safely for his return." Merlin explained and walked forwards, noticing that the room was indeed empty like he'd predicted. It was just the two of them. "The question is; how do you defeat an entire immortal army by oneself?"

"You ask the person in control what they want in exchange for the destruction of the army."

"What do you want Morgause? You have Camelot like you always wanted, Uther is dead, Arthur was close to never being found. Isn't that enough?"

"No, I realised that Camelot isn't enough. I want more." Morgause got to her feet and Merlin noticed for the first time that she wore a crown on her head. It wasn't exactly the right size to suit her. Instead it looked like it was meant for someone much larger and well built. "Power Merlin, that's what I want. I want to be able to go anywhere, do anything, and know that no one can stop me. I want people to fear me. Then I realised, who has the power I want?"

"Me."

"Correct," she stood a mere meter from him now and a smile covered her face. "What do you say Merlin? I destroy the army in exchange for your magic? I'll move on, forget Camelot and Arthur can become King like you want. It's a win win situation. Nobody loses except you and you'll hardly be missed." She began to circle him slowly as if judging her prey, "You'll go down in history as the saviour of Camelot instead of the ghost of Emrys that is said to be more evil then anything that was ever created. According to some people anyway."

"I'm not evil. You are evil."

"I'm not the one who has stories named after me. Now tell me, do we have a deal?"

Merlin made a thoughtful look go across his face, like he was actually thinking about her proposal and he took the time to think about Arthur. What would he do when he heard about Merlin's death? Would he grieve? Or would the loss of his Father be too great to ignore and instead he'll think of the dead King rather than the dead warlock?

"Do we have a deal?" Morgause repeated.

He turned his head to the side and gave a small nod, "We do."

A knife emerged from Morgause's sleeve and she plunged it into his stomach, a wound already in place on her hand where the blood would be mixed to send the magic. "Didn't want you to change your mind," she stated to explain her quick actions and he simply nodded. Showing no pain from the knife now buried in his flesh. "Care to tell me the magic word? Seems to have slipped my mind."

Merlin glared at her and almost wished he'd thought of a better plan, one that didn't involve all his magic leaving him. However this was how it had to be. It was the only way Arthur and his people would be safe. "Brówung."

**

* * *

Will he die? Won't he die? Who knows … lets see shall we? Another chapter ending when you don't know if he'll make it. You've seen his future. What do you think will happen?**

**We've reached chapter 20 and I only need 9 reviews to reach my goal, so please spare a quick second to review, even if it's just with one word. Every review makes me happy.**

**I hope you enjoyed and understood that the italic bits about Arthur were his memories. Got a review saying they were disappointed they didn't get to read any bits about Arthur being tortured. Those bits were for you ;)**

**Keep reading!**


	21. Casting A Spell

**Casting A Spell**

* * *

Arthur opened his eyes a mere half an hour later and saw that Morgana was no longer sat by his side reading a book. Instead he was alone. As he sat up in the bed, he pushed the hair from his face and looked around at the rest of the room. Now that he thought about it, he did recognise some of the things in this room, they'd just been in another place. Inside a tent to be precise. Wondering where the owner was, Arthur got to his feet and pulled on his boots that had been at the foot of the bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" Arthur looked up from his boot that he'd just put on and saw a tall man stood there. Someone he didn't recognise. "Morgana said you should be in bed, resting."

"Do I know you?"

The man rolled his eyes as if he knew Arthur would say that and he moved his body in the way so Arthur couldn't get past him to go downstairs. "I'm Gwaine. Emrys saved me a while ago," lifting up his shirt he revealed a scar from a knife wound, "I asked him to leave the scar. Reminds me not to be so reckless." There was a brief pause before Gwaine crossed his arms, "Are you going to get back into bed by yourself or am I going to have to force you? Honestly, I don't have time to be standing around."

"Is something going on?" Arthur asked and walked over to the window, seeing the sorcerer's lining the streets. What were they all doing? "What's happening? Why is everyone looking like they're about to go to war?"

"That might be because they are," Gwaine replied and Arthur's head snapped in his direction in question. "For some reason we're going to go fight that immortal army and get you your Kingdom back."

"Immortal army? Get my Kingdom back? What happened to my Father?"

A shocked look crossed Gwaine's face and then what Arthur could only guess was pity filled his eyes, "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this … I thought maybe Morgana … you should sit down."

"I don't want to sit down. What's happened to my Father? He's okay, right?"

"Sire … Arthur, Morgause has taken over Camelot. We believe she was the one who took you back to the slave trader-" a flash of Morgause smiling at him came to Arthur and he knew Gwaine's suspicions were true "-and a few days later she killed your Father." The Prince stood there in shock, hoping that the stranger would tell him it was some cruel sick joke, instead the man looked at him in sadness and what he now knew was definitely pity. "One of your Knights managed to find us and tell us what was going on. She has an immortal army at her disposal and until now we didn't think we could stop her."

"What changed your mind?" Arthur managed to ask and silence followed. What wasn't this man telling him? "Look if you're not going to tell me, send me someone who will. Like Emrys. He'll tell me what's going on without hesitation." At least that's what he liked to believe.

"That's the thing Sire, he's the one who's changed our minds. He went to Camelot by himself and told me when we could attack the army without being in any danger."

"You let him go alone?"

"Emrys isn't exactly someone you can tell what he should or shouldn't do. You should go back to bed Arthur, we're due to set off any minute now and I can't afford to be here when I can be out there, helping." Gwaine turned and took the steps two at a time to get downstairs faster. Arthur on the other hand looked back out the window and saw Morgana stood amongst the many older sorcerers. She couldn't possibly think she was going with them, did she?

Running down the stairs, Arthur went out through the main door and ran over to her. "Morgana, what do you think you're doing?" Arthur demanded to know and gripped her shoulders, hoping to keep her where she was.

"I'm going to help. They'll need as many sorcerer's as they can get and I'm one of the best. Plus I can heal the injured afterwards."

"You're not going anywhere. You'll get yourself killed and you are way too young to be doing this kind of thing. Go back inside." Arthur said firmly and pushed her towards the house he'd just come from, "This entire idea is stupid you realise? Attacking an immortal army just because Merlin says it'll be fine? Are you all idiots?"

"You don't trust Merlin?" Morgana asked and this made him stop in his tracks. "If Merlin says we're going to be safe, we'll be safe. Unlike you, we trust him with our lives. He has never given us reason to doubt him and we're not going to start now." She looked past him to see Gwaine stood at the front of the sorcerer's, a stern expression on his face as he raised his hand, five sorcerer's vanished into thin air. "It's time to go."

"Morgana, wait." Arthur turned on the spot as she brushed past him and saw some more sorcerer's vanish as Gwaine raised his arm again. "You're going to get yourself killed."

"That might be true, but at least I'll go down fighting for what I believe in." She put her back to the army and Arthur could almost see the woman she would one day be. If she made it through today that is. "You'll make a great King Arthur. Merlin wouldn't be doing this if he didn't think so too. We're fighting so you can become that King and maybe change the way the world sees people like me." Morgana glanced back and saw Gwaine raise his hand, this must have been her signal since she looked back at him for one last time. "Goodbye Arthur."

"Wait!" Arthur yelled and suddenly time seemed to rush by as all the people who were once lining the streets, now vanished. Only Gwaine, Gwen and Lancelot remained. Along with himself. "How could you let them go! By the sounds of it, they're walking to their deaths."

"Emrys wouldn't let that happen," Lancelot replied calmly.

"We trust him," Gwen added.

"He wouldn't risk their lives if he didn't think they'd make it," Gwaine concluded.

"Then why aren't you going as well? You all have the ability to fight along side them." Arthur glanced at the sword Lancelot had sheathed and he felt determination flow through him. "I'm going. Where can I find a sword?"

"Maybe you should-"

"A sword, tell me where I can get one." Arthur demanded and Gwen sighed.

"There's one under Merlin's bed," Gwen muttered and Arthur went into the house she indicated. Now he knew why he recognised the stuff. He had been right, it was from Merlin's tent. Rushing up the many staircases, he went to the side of the bed and knelt down. Lowering his head, he looked under to see a single sword randomly lying there, a note by it's side. Picking up both items, he set the sword down on the bed as he got to his feet and lifted the note up. Why would Merlin let his precious note from his Mother fall under the bed?

"Clumsy idiot," shoving the note back into the bedside table, Arthur went back outside. He was going to get to that castle even if it killed him.

* * *

Merlin didn't know when he fell to the ground, his vision pretty much began to blur when most of his magic left him and now he lay in a pool of his blood. The scene all too familiar. Everything was happening like predicted. "Oh how the mighty have fallen," Morgause teased and brushed the hair away from his face to reveal his scar. "I can feel your magic mixing with my own Emrys-" she paused briefly "-or should I call you Merlin? Seeing as we're practically blood related. Get it?"

"I'd laugh but somehow I just can't find the strength to do so."

"You had no idea how powerful you were did you? Otherwise you would have used your magic a long time ago to take out revenge against those who sought to harm you. Not even I could imagine such power lay within you. My head is spinning from what I'm feeling. If this is what you feel every day, I'm surprised you don't smile more often."

"You'll find having that amount of power isn't enough in life. That smile will disappear when you find there in not a single person in this world who loves you. You will die alone Morgause and all the power in the world can't stop that from happening."

She glared down at him and then smiled, "Nothing you say will ruin this for me. I can do anything I want. The world is mine to have!"

Merlin watched as she walked away from him and he then looked back at the ground that was at eye level. This was the part that he hadn't seen. When he would take his final breath and that would be the end of it. However there was one thing he noticed. There was still the smallest amount of magic remaining inside him, something Morgause hadn't quite managed to take and he could probably use it to cast one last spell.

Closing his eyes, Merlin took a deep breath and summoned the magic within him. "_Cargást onsteppan_," he whispered and his body flinched as the spell took over him.

* * *

Arthur rode towards Camelot at full speed with the other three following him, all now determined to help Merlin in some way, even if it wasn't by much. It hadn't taken much to convince them to come with him. As they reached a clearing, Arthur stopped his horse and jumped off. The horses wouldn't go any further then this. They were close enough and they had to be quiet so not to alert any of the soldiers guarding the boarders.

However instead of talking tactics on how to get inside, Arthur froze as he looked at the view of Camelot and the surrounding trees. This image, he recognised it. The way the trees looked, the colouring of the sky, the way Camelot looked dark and evil. Trying to place the image, he eventually realised where he'd seen it. It was from the first time Merlin had used his symbols, obviously he hadn't meant too and Arthur had merely seen an image of Camelot, but this was it. He was in the future he'd seen for Merlin.

Which meant …

Spinning on the spot, he saw the one man he didn't expect to see ever again and Merlin simply stood there. A dark look covering his face. "Is that really you?" Arthur asked and he stepped towards him, only for the young sorcerer to shake his head. Glancing sideways, he saw the other three talking, as if they couldn't see Merlin stood there. "What's going on Merlin? Where are you?"

"It does not matter where I am. All that matters is that you remain safe. Why are you so close to Camelot? I thought you'd be resting."

"You think I could rest whilst knowing you lot are risking your lives to get me my Kingdom back?" He went even closer to Merlin before he could argue and reached out to grasp his hand, except instead of holding something solid, his hand went straight through Merlin. "What-"

"I'm not here Arthur. This is … I cast a spell to come see you."

"What's going on where you are?" When Merlin didn't answer, Arthur glared at him and wished he could slap him across the face to make him react in some way. "If your not going to tell me what's going on, why did you come? What is there to gain from seeing me?"

A soft look crossed Merlin's face and he tilted his head, "Did you find my note?"

"There's a battle about to happen and you're worried about a stupid note? You need to get your priorities straight Merlin."

"_Stupid_?" Merlin repeated sadly.

"Look I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything because I know that the words on that piece of parchment mean a lot to you, but to someone like me, it means nothing. It won't change anything. I put it back in your drawer where it should be kept if that's what you're worried about." Arthur replied and the expression on Merlin's face was like he'd just stabbed a knife right through his heart. "Merlin-"

"Tell Gwaine that the sorcerer's should attack in a matter of minutes. It's ... almost ... time." Merlin winced and put a hand to his stomach, when he lifted his hand away, Arthur could see dark blood covering his black glove.

"Tell me where you are!"

Merlin smiled softly and shook his head, "It is my destiny to do this. I see that now. No other could have stopped her." He suddenly stood tall and Arthur had never seen him look so … normal? If that was even possible. There was not the usual power emitting from his body. No strength behind his eyes. Just sadness and longing. "Don't be a prat yeah? Otherwise I'll really regret doing this."

Arthur yelled out as Merlin vanished and the other three finally realised something was going on. Gwaine was first to reach him and grasp his shoulder, "What happened?"

"Merlin…" he started and saw a look of confusion cross Gwaine's face. "Emrys. He was here … talking. Something was wrong, he was bleeding, there was … he told me to tell you that it's almost time for the sorcerer's to attack." Silence followed for a moment and then Gwaine moved away, bringing out a small stone in his hand that he squeezed tightly. That was odd. "What are you doing?"

"Morgana's idea. Each sorcerer has a stone like this and when they feel it heat up, they know it's time. I'm letting them know we're ready to attack."

"What does he mean it's almost time? What's changing in the next few minutes that would give you the ability to attack?"

"I don't think I should tell-"

"If you do not tell me, I'll have you executed when I'm King." He was being deadly serious.

Gwaine sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Emrys went to that castle knowing he would die." He admitted and looked back at the Prince, "The moment he dies. We can attack, apparently with no fear for our lives. I'm sorry Arthur, but he told me that this was the only way."

* * *

He returned into his body with ease and Merlin knew he had mere minutes to live. If it wasn't the magic that was now gone from his body, it was the amount of blood loss, that would kill him. Morgause remained stood in the middle of the room, happily talking to herself about what she would do now, how she would take each Kingdom for her own.

"I wouldn't get too excited," Merlin whispered and she looked over at him.

"Why not?"

"You really think I'd let you have my power and roam free?" He replied and noticed the first sign of his idea working. There were dark blue lines running up her neck and she stumbled a little as dizziness began to overtake her. "You forget Morgause, I can see the future, I knew this was coming."

"What have you done?" Morgause exclaimed and clutched her chest as she fell to her knees, her eyes going red as the magic began to attack her body. "Tell me!"

"I poisoned my magic," he hissed between gritted teeth as his body began to shut down. "You were doomed the moment you said the spell. The poison attacks any foreign magic it comes into contact with and well … I have a feeling my magic isn't fond of yours." Morgause came over and pushed him onto his back, holding him by the scruff of the neck.

"What's the antidote?" She demanded to know.

Merlin struggled to hold on, he wanted to see this, needed to see her suffer for what she did to him. "There is none," he lied and she threw his limp body onto the floor in anger. She screamed as the poison attacked her body and her fingers dug into her skin as if trying to dig it out. What she didn't know was that soon enough, the poison would wear off and she would be back to her usual self. Morgause would have the power to take over any Kingdom she wished.

She just hadn't discovered her immortal army was being destroyed as she became weaker. The moment her magic was poisoned, the soldiers had weakened and it had been enough for the sorcerer's to attack. Outside a battle would be happening and Morgause would find herself having to face all of them. He only hoped that what he taught them was enough, that somehow they'd find a way to stop her, because he had done all he could. Merlin had destroyed an army that couldn't have been destroyed any other way and couldn't be summoned again.

Merlin felt a single tear leave his eye as he felt his heart slowing, his final moments now approaching and all he could remember was how Arthur had said his note meant nothing. That his words had meant nothing. He'd been rejected after all of this and now he really was going to die alone. At least now he'd be with his Mother. With someone who loved him. Arthur would stay here and become a great King, would marry a Princess and start a line of heir's that would rule the Kingdom like he had. There was no room in his life for Merlin anyway.

They had two completely different lives and Merlin could never be a part of Arthur's. He knew that now. So as he took his final breath, a small smile came to his lips and he closed his eyes. For someone who had been responsible for the deaths in his village as a boy and had been told he was a monster from such a young, he reckoned he'd done good in life.

* * *

**Duh. Duh. Duh.**

**I honestly can't believe how many of you reviewed the last chapter. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I did not expect to wake up to that many emails. The review saying 'one word' made me giggle. In answer to another, I don't know how many chapters until the end, I'm still deciding on how to finish it.**

**Hope you enjoyed the latest installment. Of course Merlin wasn't going to let Morgause take his magic without something happening. He's no fool.**

**Keeping reading & reviewing and I'll keep writing**


	22. Becoming A King

**Becoming A King**

* * *

Arthur ran across the bridge into the main courtyard of Camelot and stopped sharply when he saw bodies lying on the floor. Dead bodies. Around them stood sorcerer's he had come to know over time and they all smiled triumphantly, each congratulating each other on their victory. He looked around for any sign of Merlin but found none. Not even Morgana was amongst the people stood before him. "Arthur?" Modred emerged from a crowd of people and for once there was a smile on his face, "You missed all the fun."

"Where's Merlin and Morgana?"

"Morgana's around here somewhere and I don't know who Merlin is." Modred replied and spread his arms out, "We did it though. I didn't think we could, that Emrys would fail, but the army became weak. We defeated them all."

"What happened?" Gwaine said as he caught up to see the scene before them.

"He's not here," Arthur muttered and moved past the sorcerer's. Heading straight into the castle, he hurried up the staircase and towards where Merlin would be if he was still alive. By the sounds of it, it was unlikely he would be. As he approached the throne room, he glanced around the corner to see two guards stood at the door, each holding a sword at the ready.

These two were no doubt part of the immortal army that he'd been told about. They'd been missed off during the attack by the sorcerer's. However he wasn't just any old Knight. He was the best and if he couldn't take down two soldiers, he shouldn't be King. Merlin had said they would be weak, maybe he was still within a chance of defeating them.

Stepping out into the open, he held his sword and smiled at the two men. "Greetings," was his final word before attacking them.

* * *

"You have betrayed our people," Morgana said sharply as she lifted Merlin's head onto her lap. Her tiny hands brushed the hair from his head as if to comfort him in the final moments he had to have alone. "He saved so many lives. Protecting those who could not defend themselves. Never asked for anything in return. It was not his time to die."

"Such wise words from someone so young," Morgause commented as she stood tall in front of the throne. "You are the one who Arthur protected in the cells when the slave trader had you. It is rare for someone to have such an affect on him. I'm surprised he acted so bravely in order to protect you."

"He is man, much like Merlin, who protects others without question." Her green eyes looked up at Morgause and there were tears threatening to run down her face, "He will _kill_ you for doing this. You will die at his hand and your name will go down in history for being the one to rid this world of a brave, loyal man."

"No child, I will not. I will go down in history as the greatest Queen who ever ruled over Camelot and the most powerful sorcerer that has ever been seen." She came forward so she was stood over Morgana and the dead body. "You could join me Morgana. We could be like sisters, you and me."

"I'd rather die," Morgana replied and she looked back down at Merlin. "Just like him, I will protect Arthur with my life." Her eyes went golden as she cast her spell and shot her hand out, except nothing happened like expected. Morgause remained standing. "What … how?"

"I'm a lot more powerful then anyone you have ever faced. Even more than Merlin was. I have his magic and my own, nothing you can do will harm me." Morgause smiled and it dropped when there was a loud sound from outside, almost like something being thrown against the door. "Who else came with you?" She asked Morgana.

It was Morgana's turn to smile, "You honestly think Arthur wouldn't come? If there's one person in this world who could stop you, it's him and he's coming for his revenge. The moment you took Merlin's life, Arthur knew, because you killed his heart." Her hand went to Merlin's wound on his stomach and she wished she'd gotten here sooner. Maybe she could have helped. "I wouldn't wish to be in your shoes right now."

The doors flew open and there stood the young Prince, blood dripping from his sword as he walked into the room. "Where is he?" Arthur demanded to know and his footsteps slowed as his eyes landed on Morgana, Merlin's head still resting on her lap. "No … he can't … Merlin!" He fell to his knees and cupped the sorcerer's face, "Merlin!"

Morgana prevented her tears from falling and she reached out, touching his hand. "I'm so sorry Arthur. By the time I got here, I could not heal him. He was already dead."

* * *

Arthur's hands dropped to Merlin's shoulders and he shook him roughly, "Wake up you idiot. Don't you dare die. Not again."

"Stop it, you can do nothing, do not treat his body with such disrespect." Morgana pleaded and Arthur looked down to see the cause of his death. A wound in his stomach caused by what he presumed was a knife that was nowhere to be seen. That didn't make sense. Leon had stabbed Merlin with a sword and it had done nothing to slow him down, he had acted like it was nothing. So why had a tiny knife been the weapon to finish him?

"_What did you do_?" Arthur asked Morgause as he looked up at her.

"Me? Nothing. He's the one who did this. I gave him a choice and this was the end result," she tilted her head and studied the dead sorcerer. "He died with such fear in his eyes. It is said when you witness the last moments of someone, you can see them for who they truly are. Emrys wasn't strong or brave, he was a coward and this was an excuse to be free of this world."

Arthur got to his feet and held his sword firmly, "You know _nothing_ about him."

"And you do? Can you honestly tell me that you know this boy," she glanced back down at Merlin and then met his gaze. "You know things about him only because you saw it through his symbols. Merlin didn't tell you anything about himself. You are the last person he would tell. He has a thing about trusting Pendragons …" her words trailed off as her gaze went past Arthur and towards the open door. "You killed my soldiers just now?"

"Hardly difficult," Arthur replied.

Morgause glanced at his sword and Arthur took a step back, holding it firmer in his grasp incase she tried anything. "They were immortal. Incase your vocabulary doesn't understand that word, it means they can't die. How did you kill them?"

"With my sword, they weren't immortal."

"Where did you get that sword?" Morgause asked and stepped forward, her eyes now never leaving the sword in his hand. "Such a sword … it was a legend, a myth. A weapon forged by the dragon's breath to kill those who cannot be killed. So let me ask you again, where did you get it?" Arthur's eyes instinctively dropped to Merlin's body and back up, however this was enough to answer her question. "It seems even after death, he's still finding a way to help you. How he found that sword … I guess we'll never know. What I do know is that I want it. _Now_."

"You'll have to pry it from my dead body if you want this sword," Arthur claimed and brought it up in front of him.

"I think I'd rather just take it," her hand shot out and a spell left her lips. Arthur thought for a moment the sword would fly from his hand, but when nothing happened, he saw the confusion on Morgause's face. "What …" she looked down at her hand and then tried again, once again failing. "Why isn't it working?"

"Maybe you're not powerful enough," he lightly teased.

"No! I took everything from him. I should be able to have a mere thought of wanting that sword and it should end up in my hand." Morgause went to grab Merlin's body as if to yell at him but Arthur was stood between them a second later, his sword up in protection.

"What did you take from him?" Arthur asked.

"What do you think? His power. I said that I'd leave Camelot, along with the army, in exchange for his magic. He agreed after some hesitation and here we are, I have his power. For some reason it isn't working …" she looked down at the little girl and suddenly Morgana was flying from the room, the doors shutting behind her. "They work on her though."

"Maybe I'm just special," Arthur replied and made sure to keep Merlin's body behind him as she circled them. "Merlin had to know you weren't going to leave Camelot, that you wouldn't take your army with you. There's something more to it. Tell me."

"Seeing as I'm going to kill you, I might as well. You see, young Prince, he decided to be clever and poison his magic. The moment I took it, my magic was attacked and it weakened me to the point that I could no longer keep up the spell that made those men immortal. Your sorcerer friends attacked my men when they were weak and you know the rest. He either died from all his magic being taken or blood loss, not sure."

"But …" He paused and thought back to when Merlin had appeared just outside the Kingdoms boarders. "He came to me. I was just outside Camelot and he appeared out of thin air, there was this look …" Arthur lowered his sword and turned to kneel beside Merlin where the blood didn't cover the ground. "You knew you were about to die and you didn't tell me."

"How sweet, he used his last bit of magic on you. I hope you said something meaningly to get him through his final moments."

_There's a battle about to happen and you're worried about a stupid note? You need to get your priorities straight Merlin_

He remembered saying those specific words because the look on his face told him there was more to it than that. Yet he had kept going. Told him the note meant nothing to him. Which made sense since it was from Merlin's Mother. So why had he looked like it had been Arthur to stab him with a knife, not Morgause? He had never seen someone look so sad over a few meaningless words.

"By the look on your face, I take it your final words weren't your best." Morgause commented.

Arthur ignored her and gently ran his finger across Merlin's lips, wondering what he must have thought of Arthur in his last moments. Did he hate him? Had he died thinking it had really been for nothing? "He knew what he meant to me. Words aren't needed to show that kind of emotion."

"If that's what you believe." Suddenly a hot sensation ran across his back and he turned to see fire shooting from Morgause's hand, gold flashing in her eyes to show she was using magic. However it just brushed against an invisible barrier that was around Arthur and as he got to his feet, the barrier expanded. What was going on? Why wasn't her magic working against him? "What have you done? How are you immune against my magic?"

"Because it is not _your_ magic anymore. It is _his_."

* * *

Morgana walked back into the room with a small limp which she quickly healed and went to stand beside Arthur, her words still fresh in each of their minds. "When you used magic against me, it worked because I am not close to Merlin, I bet anyone you met in the street would be the same. However if you use it against Arthur, on the one person Merlin ever felt anything for, it won't work. That magic is a part of Merlin, he is magic, you've taken a part of him in you and that part would never hurt Arthur."

"How can you possible know this?"

"I was thinking about it whilst I regained consciousness," Morgana replied and took Arthur's hand in her own. "Arthur could enter Merlin's house without going up against a barrier. We only could do it because Merlin had taught us a spell to get through, therefore allowing anyone we wanted to go in if we trusted them, that's how Gwaine got in without magic. Until a while ago, we did not trust Arthur, so we were hardly going to let him go in and out of Merlin's home. He did it by himself. Merlin unconsciously has allowed Arthur past his shields around his heart and his magic no longer works on him."

"You barely make sense," Morgause waved her hand and walked away.

"Just know that you can't harm him. Not anymore."

"Then I see no point in me being here. I shall get my own Kingdom," Morgause vanished before either of them could stop her and Morgana felt Arthur's grip tighten. His need for revenge now surfacing.

"You'll get your revenge one day," Morgana told him softly and turned to look down at Merlin. "However right now we need to lay his body to rest. He deserves to be at peace." When Arthur made no movement to help her, she released his hand and stepped away. "I'll give you a moment alone before I bring in some help."

The doors shut behind her and the Prince was left alone.

* * *

"You shouldn't have done that Merlin," Arthur commented as he knelt by Merlin's side. "We could have found a way to defeat her. Together. Without you having to sacrifice your life. Those immortal guys would have been easy to … order around, I want to say, after their old master was gone. Camelot would have been so powerful with an army that strong under my command."

When no response came, no witty remark or wise words, Arthur's hand clutched Merlin's tighter. "You need to come back. This world needs you … I need you. Until a few weeks ago, all I had in life was training, being a Prince, living up to expectations. Then you came along and gave me a family, a home to return to whenever I wanted to. The people who I had grown up to hate became the people I trusted the most. More than my Father."

He gently traced the cold symbol on Merlin's hand and wished it would work, show him how Merlin had poisoned Morgause and whether it could be reversed. Whether any of his memories contained the knowledge on how to bring him back. "I'm sorry if I hurt you when I said that note meant nothing. I know it meant the world to you and your Mother was there for you when no one else was. That because of my Father, she was taken from you and now all you have of her is a small scrap of parchment. You needed comforting words before you died and I treated you like an idiot."

Turning Merlin's head to the side, Arthur traced the scar that ran down his face and felt tears beginning to form. "You shouldn't have died this way. It wasn't fair. After everything you have done, all that you've achieved, you deserved to die as an old man who had lived a full, healthy and happy life. You deserved to be happy." A memory of how Merlin had laughed back in the caves filled his mind and a sad smile came to his lips, "I wish I could have heard you laugh again. To have the memory that you'd been happy more than once during the time I knew you."

"Arthur," a soft voice said from behind him and he turned to see Gwen stood there. Along with most of the sorcerer's who'd come to help him get Camelot back. "We should take him home. The people will realise they're safe soon and they need you to tell them every thing's okay. That they're King lives on through you." Arthur reached out for Merlin as Gwaine and Lancelot lifted him, however Morgana grasped his hand in her own to keep it down. "Your people need you Arthur, to be their King."

"I need him," Arthur whispered.

"He'll always be with you," Morgana now spoke up and pressed a hand over his heart. "Right here. Become the King he knew you could be and know that you have a family in all of us. If you ever need us, just reach out to us, we'll hear you." She stood up and began to walk away with the others as they left the throne room.

"You're not staying?" Arthur asked.

"I will be back," Morgana replied and turned on the spot to face him. "I was asked to watch over you after all and I never break promises. However I need to be with my people when we lay him to rest. You are welcome to join us, we'll be doing it during the full moon in a few nights ahead. If you cannot come, we understand." She smiled at him softly and then vanished.

Leaving the new King to grieve alone.

**

* * *

Another Chapter done and dusted. I reckon there's going to be 2-3 more chapters to go. After all, Morgause is still out there ;)**

**Hope you enjoyed it! Thank you SO much for the reviews again.**

**R&R and I'll keep writing**


	23. Returning A Light

**Returning A Light**

* * *

"Arthur, it's time."

The new King left his own thoughts and looked up from where he sat to see Gwen stood at the door. She wore a long dress that was so dark, she might as well be a part of the night sky. He had left Camelot early that morning and come here to say goodbye to Merlin, now that the time was here, he couldn't believe it was happening. Every morning he woke up, he hoped that another miracle had happened, that Merlin had found some way to come back like last time. However his body remained cold and Arthur was beginning to realise he may never see Merlin again.

"We'll be down by the lake when your ready."

Gwen closed the door behind her and Arthur pushed the hair from his head, now looking at the fire that had been his company most of the night. Upon arrival, he'd been told he was to stay in Merlin's house as it was the only spare room they had and Arthur couldn't bring himself to go upstairs. To see more reminders of what he had lost.

Deciding it was best to get going, he pulled on his jacket and left the empty house. His footsteps carried him down to the lake slowly and as he emerged from the trees, he saw Gwaine and Lancelot lowering Merlin's body into the boat. His cloak draped over his body afterwards. For someone who had thought no one had cared for them, there were a lot of people looking so sad they may fall to their knees and Arthur knew how they felt. Ever since Merlin's body had been taken from his throne room, he had been floating around like he was lifeless, attending to matters a King should. Now that he had nothing to do but say goodbye, he could feel his legs beginning to shake with the threat of giving way beneath him.

As Morgana emerged from the crowd, he watched as she outstretched her hand and the boat began to slowly go forward into the water. Arthur's body moved forward of it's own accord and he found himself stood at the front of the crowd, his hand itching to reach out to stop the boat from moving away. How could this be it? So much had happened in the past few weeks. He had gone from a Prince who had everything to a King who had nothing. There were so many people relying on him back in Camelot, yet it didn't feel like home anymore. Nowhere did.

When the boat came to a stop, he noticed the people around him tense a little and their hands go forward. He also saw that the three people with magic abilities move to the back and he joined them, feeling it was needed right now. Suddenly the sorcerer's began to say a spell all in sync.

_"Wit sárcwide hrycg_

_hwæne unc alétlíc,_

_ríce sé síþfæt_

_ofer ándaga efenherenes."_

A small ball of light began to emerge from each of their palms and they repeated the words, the light shining brighter every time the spell ended. Arthur crossed his arms and leant back against the tree, wondering what they were even doing. "Gwen," he got her attention and she stepped back so she was closer. "What are those lights?"

"Power," she replied quietly and he saw the lights beginning to go out across the water. Towards where Merlin lay in the boat. "When you were gone, Emrys shared his power with the people of this camp in hopes of helping them access power they couldn't before. One day they were to return the power. All of them agreed that they did not feel right to keep the power when the owner had passed on. Right now they are chanting a spell to return the power. It takes a lot of strength to do what he did and he never showed them how to take it back, this was the only way they knew how. It'll take time but soon he will have back any power he gave."

He didn't bother replying, not wanting to ruin the moment any further as the chanting grew stronger and just as all their lights reached Merlin, more lights appeared around the lake. All of them watched as people stepped out from the trees and began to chant the same spell, all making lights of their own to send back to the fallen sorcerer. Arthur gasped as he saw hundreds begin to appear and he put a hand to his sword as people suddenly brushed past him, people he didn't recognise. Who were all these people?

"I did not expect the King himself to be here," a dark voice said and he turned to see a man stood at his side. "Tell me, how does someone like you know Emrys?"

"None of your business. Who are you? Did you bring these people?"

"When people heard of what was going on, they felt it necessary to do the same. I simply spread the word and more people began to arise from hiding."

"All these people … he gave them some of his power?"

The man nodded and crossed his arms, watching as more lights kept appearing. "A moment like this shows you just how many people he helped. It was a shame that he lost his life at such a young age. He would have changed the world." He looked at Arthur now, "Just like you will."

"How can I change a world that I don't feel a part of? I thought I was ready to be King, that anything was possible, yet everything feels … wrong somehow." Arthur looked out at the boat and saw Merlin was covered in a bright light. So much power was being returned, it was a wonder he had been as powerful as he was after giving that much away.

"There's still someone who has some of his power."

"Yeah, I know. Morgause. I doubt she'll turn up to give it back though," Arthur replied.

"She wasn't who I was talking about," the man commented and went forward. Creating his own light in his palm. Arthur wondered who he meant, he had talked like Arthur should know and yet no one sprung to mind. Looking at the people around him, he finally noticed that it wasn't just sorcerer's giving power back. Gwaine was as well, with the help of a nearby sorcerer who had appeared. Arthur was quick to walk over and ask why Gwaine was joining in.

"This man tells me I have some of his power in me, when I explained that Emrys had once healed me, he told me that was the reason." His hand only had a tiny light and it flew out slowly, barely adding to the already bright light surrounding the sorcerer. He glanced down at his own hand and the memory of how injured he'd been when he'd been captured by the slave trader surfaced. Merlin healed him then. Did that mean he had power inside him that once belonged to Merlin?

A small hand grabbed his and he looked down to see Morgana. She lead him towards the lake and he stood there silently as she began to chant the words for him, her hand never leaving his. His eyes widened as the light began to form and it kept growing, becoming a lot larger then Gwaine's. Looking up, he saw that everyone else had finished sending their power back but continued to chant, helping the last bit of power appear. After the spell had been chanted three times, the light finally moved away from his hand, Morgana's grip now gone as she joined everyone to watch the power reach the body.

Arthur crossed his arms so his fingers could clutch the material of his jacket and his breath caught in his throat as the light faded. Merlin's body now no longer surrounded in light. This was it. He'd been told that when the time came, the person selected would cast the final spell and the boat would go up in flames. Merlin would be gone forever. He didn't have to look to know Morgana had been given the task of sending Merlin off.

Just as she began to raise her hand, Arthur noticed something moving in the boat, at first he thought it was the wind playing tricks. Except when he saw Merlin's body turn over in the boat he ran forward and put a hand in front of Morgana, stopping her from casting the spell. "Wait," he said and took another step towards the water. When he saw Merlin still moving, he didn't hesitate and dived into the water. The distance between the edge of the lake and the boat never seemed larger, by the time Arthur got there, it had felt like years had passed.

Grabbing the edge of the boat, he pulled himself up and saw that what he'd seen was true. Merlin was alive.

* * *

A light knock on the door downstairs roused Merlin and he lifted his head from his pillow. It had been three days since his miraculous resurrection and he still didn't understand how it could have happened. No spell could bring someone back from the dead, if anyone would know if it were possible, he would. His memories about what had happened were still fuzzy too. The last thing he really remembered was when the knife had been plunged into his stomach. Anything after that wasn't clear. He could have sworn he'd seen Arthur but that wasn't right, he hadn't been anywhere near Camelot.

The knocking sounded through the house again and Merlin sat up, the light from the window shining down on him. He didn't want to see anyone right now, couldn't they see that? No matter how many times they knocked on his door, he wouldn't respond and his barriers were back up, preventing anyone from entering. Merlin just needed to get his head together. To plan what was his next move. Morgause still possessed so much of his power and with it, she could do so much damage. Magic wasn't meant to be used for that. Especially not his.

Then there was also Arthur to think about.

When he'd seen Arthur on the boat, words had left him and he'd sat there in silence. Watching as Arthur went on and on about how it was a miracle he was alive. Once it was known Merlin was alive, the sorcerers had summoned the boat back to shore and celebrated his return. He hadn't said anything, instead he'd walked away from them all and back to his home. Where he had remained for the past three days, in bed.

As he sat there, Merlin noticed his symbols glowing and he panicked. Pulling open his bedside table drawer, he took out his gloves and slipped them on. Feeling his body instantly relax. That ended when he heard the knocking carry on. This person wasn't getting the message. Sighing in frustration, Merlin got out of bed and walked downstairs, pushing the hair from his head as he opened his front door. Why was it that his heart sunk when he saw it wasn't the person he wanted to see?

"Emrys, I didn't think you'd answer."

"Yet you kept knocking," Merlin replied and leant against the door frame. "What do you want?"

"Sir Leon came with a message this morning," Merlin remembered him being the Knight who told them about Morgause and the immortal army. "It's from the King."

"And?"

"It's addressed to you. Thought you might want it." Gwaine pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket and held it out to him, waiting for Merlin to take it. Except he didn't. He didn't have to be a genius to know that Arthur was writing to say that he couldn't see him again. He'd left the morning after Merlin had returned and there hadn't been word since, what did that say about their relationship. "Emrys, take it. Even if you don't want to read it now, maybe tomorrow you will."

Merlin sighed and reached out for the letter, however Gwaine grabbed his hand instead to pull him out of his house. The barrier now no longer standing between them. "Let me go," Merlin hissed.

"You need to get out of that house and start living the life you were given back. Forget Arthur if that's what you need to do to be happy. We're all worried about you-"

"Let. Me. Go." His eyes went gold and Gwaine flew backwards, a door slammed in his face. The letter now lay on the floor outside Merlin's house. Hurrying upstairs, Merlin closed his curtains and took a deep breath. He couldn't take this. All these people telling him what to do. Life was easier when he was alone.

The solution was easy then. He'd leave.

Reaching under his bed, he grabbed a bag and went to retrieve some clothes. However as he passed his bed, he glanced into his drawer and saw the note inside. The one that he'd kept since he was eight. Picking it up, he read the words his mother had written to him and then turned it over. The words meant for Arthur now looking back at him.

_Look I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything because I know that the words on that piece of parchment mean a lot to you, but to someone like me, it means nothing_

The memory cleared in his mind of Arthur saying those words to him when Merlin had questioned him about reading his note. It had been his final moments and Merlin had wanted something good to happen to before he died. The opposite had happened. Merlin had died thinking no one loved him, utterly alone and now everyone expected him to be fine. To be happy that he was back. Truthfully, Merlin wished he had remained dead. At least that way, his heart wouldn't hurt anymore.

* * *

Gripping onto the balcony edge, Arthur looked out across his Kingdom and felt the seconds go by slowly. He'd told Merlin to come here, that no one would cause him harm and that things needed to be said. Arthur had felt like the day had gone on forever as the minutes ticked by until he'd see Merlin again and when the time had come, Arthur had stood nervously in his chambers. Merlin hadn't turned up. Hours had passed and Arthur was still alone. Had something happened?

"Morgana!" Arthur called and she entered his chambers like she always did when called. When Merlin had returned, she had come back to Camelot with him, saying that she would still watch over him whilst he was King like promised. Ever since, she had been there for him like no other had. "I need you to find out if Merlin's okay. He was meant to meet me and hasn't shown up. I'm worried."

"I'll go and find out for you," Morgana vanished and he waited patiently. She was quick to return.

"Well? Is he okay?"

Morgana bit her lower lip and looked at the ground, "He is fine."

"Then why isn't he here?"

"I don't know. When I went back … it was Gwen who I talked too. Merlin isn't seeing anyone at the moment." She came forward and joined him on the balcony, "You should get some sleep. Things will look better in the morning and I can find out more about what's going on with Merlin." She bowed her head and left him alone, deciding that nothing she could say would help.

Arthur glared out towards where he knew Merlin lived. No. He wouldn't wait until morning. The King _never_ waited to do something when he could be done right there and then.

* * *

"Merlin!" Once again his sleep was disturbed and he rolled over in his bed. "Merlin!"

"For pities sake," Merlin threw off his duvet and stormed downstairs. His magic threw open the door and he was shocked to see Arthur standing there, his breathing deep and heavy, like he was out of breath.

"Why didn't you come see me? I need to talk to you and you just what, thought it would be okay to stay here and leave me waiting? I didn't write that note for fun you know."

"Know the feeling."

"What's that meant to mean?"

"It doesn't matter. Go back to your Kingdom, Sire. I have nothing more to say to you." Merlin slammed the door and started climbing the stairs, however when his door opened, he stopped in his ascent and turned to see Arthur stood there. "How did you get in?"

"By opening the door," Arthur said and stepped aside as Merlin moved past him. Reaching out his hand, he sensed that his barriers were still there, as strong as ever. Grabbing Arthur by the arm, he pulled him from the house and then back in. No resistance was given. Why wasn't his magic working on Arthur? "What are you doing?"

"Just leave me alone. Go away. Stop being … go back to your castle where you belong." He turned to go back upstairs but a firm hold on his arm stopped him, Arthur now keeping him still. "Haven't you done enough? I saved your Kingdom and your life, I have an evil sorcerer to find and I can't deal with you. Not right now."

"You're not going to let me say anything?" Arthur asked.

"You want to talk, fine, lets talk." The next time Arthur blinked, he found himself upstairs in Merlin's bedroom and Merlin was rummaging in his drawer. Merlin picked up his note and shoved it against Arthur's chest, "Lets _talk_ about the fact that whilst I was lying in a pool of blood, dying, you said that this meant nothing." Arthur took the note in his own hand and looked down at it, his expression unreadable.

"Merlin-"

"I died for _nothing_. You were exactly the person I thought you were the first time I saw you. A selfish, annoying, idiotic, ungrateful, prat of a Prince who doesn't care about anyone but himself. You can say we need to talk but there is _nothing_ more to say. Nothing you can say will-"

"I love you."

**

* * *

For all you people who hate slash, probably not your favourite ending to a chapter ;)**

**Merlin's back though! Thanks for the reviews and hope you enjoyed the latest installment.**


	24. Reading A Note

**Reading A Note**

* * *

He didn't think it was possible for three little words to mean so much to him. Merlin had thought that he'd go through life without anyone to care for him and now that the idea was staring right at him, he became conscious of the fact of just how desperately he wanted it to happen. He _needed_ someone to remind him that life was worth living more often then not. When Arthur's eyes dropped back down to the note, Merlin felt a flitter of hope that what he had heard wasn't his imagination and he felt the need to check. "Excuse me?"

"Your note," Arthur started and held it up a little as if reminding Merlin it existed. "That's what you wrote to me and thought I had read when you came to see me before you died." The realisation that Arthur had just been repeating his own words back to him hit him hard in the chest and it was almost like a dagger was being plunged into his heart. "Not exactly what I was expecting …" Arthur finished.

Merlin felt his cheeks redden at the thought of Arthur inwardly mocking him and he snatched the note from his hand, turning on the spot so he could shove it back into his drawer, which was slammed shut a moment later. "Get out."

"Merlin, wait, I didn't mean-"

"I know exactly what you meant, Pendragon. You hadn't expected a sorcerer, like me, to have any kind of feelings for someone like you. The mere thought probably disgusts you and all this time you were using me to pass the time, to use as a reason to get away from your Father. Now that he's gone, you don't need to bother. Go home, live your life and I'll live mine. We can pretend this never happened and-"

A hand grabbed his and turned him firmly to face Arthur. There was a stern look on his face and anger filled his eyes as he stared at the sorcerer, "You think that I was just using you? If I wanted to get away from my Father, I would have actually gone hunting rather than come to see you and if I had meant to use you, why would I have shared your bed when there was a perfectly good tent down in camp?" Merlin went to talk but Arthur covered his mouth with his hand and pushed Merlin backwards, forcing him to go against a wall. "My turn to talk."

He could feel his magic itching to be used as the panic rose within him and Merlin wondered whether it would even work. Arthur had managed to get through his barriers. Did that mean he was also immune to all his other spells as well? "You keep jumping to conclusions and never let me get a word in edge wise. When I said I hadn't expected what you wrote, that was a mere comment that slipped out as I was trying to process everything, especially since it changes everything."

"No it-"

"Shut up, _Mer_lin. You think that if I say it back, everything would stay the same? I'm the King now, there are certain expectations and they'll want me to take a wife so I can produce an heir. If they found out about you … us, they might not think I'm the right King to have to rule over Camelot. Chaos might ensue and then where would we be? You can't just expect everything to be so simple. The world doesn't work that way."

"Simple?" Merlin shoved the hand away that covered his mouth and glared at him, "Nothing about this is simple. Simple would have been me healing you, letting you go back to your castle and never seeing you again. Simple would be me not thinking about you all the time and wondering what you're thinking. Simple would be if I had never written that note and stayed dead." He was breathing deeply as he felt his own anger rising, "But no. I have these feelings that are so confusing and troublesome, that I'd rather die again then deal with them. I wrote that note thinking I wouldn't have to deal with this, the aftermath. I thought it would be nice to leave you one last thing to have when I died and you have no idea how hard it was for me to admit what I felt."

His head went forward and he rested his forehead against Arthur's shoulder, "What I _still_ feel."

"You have to understand what position you're putting me in," Arthur said softly and wrapped his arms around Merlin without much hesitation. "I can't have you and the Kingdom. You know I can't." His fingers gently ran through Merlin's short locks and he sighed, knowing that he'd regret what he was about to say. "We can't be together. At least not now and I can't keep seeing you if I can't be with you, it's not fair on you or me. Maybe it's best if we … take some time apart."

Merlin's body stiffened and he pulled away, looking down at the floor so not to meet Arthur's gaze. "I guess you're right." A small yawn escaped his lips and Arthur must have realised that he was still recovering, it was probably the main reason he'd been in bed all this time. From sheer exhaustion.

"Get back into bed, you look like you're going to pass out." Merlin didn't need to be told twice and he got under his duvet, his head falling heavily onto his pillow. At first he thought Arthur would just leave but when he felt the bed dip behind him, he turned his head to see Arthur lying beside him. "Shouldn't you be heading home?"

"I'm already here, might as well make a night of it. Go to sleep Merlin, I'm not going anywhere tonight."

* * *

When his eyes opened the next morning, Merlin was surprised to find that he had a warm body pressed against his back, as well as an arm wrapped around his waist and a leg slipped between his own. Keeping very still, he lay there silently and smiled. This was what he wanted. To wake up every morning and know that someone cared about him. Arthur may not have told him that he loved him but Merlin knew that it was only because it would make this all the more harder.

So when Arthur began to wake, Merlin closed his eyes and relaxed his body, giving off the appearance of being asleep. At first the King didn't realise how they slept but the instant he did, Merlin felt him move off the bed as silently as possible with a small gasp leaving his lips. Keeping himself still, Merlin tried to make out what Arthur was doing from the sounds of him moving around and it was only when his body was turned onto his back did he realise Arthur was taking a final look at him.

It took all his will power not to open his eyes, to look at Arthur one last time but he knew if he did, he'd never let him leave. What made it harder was that Arthur decided to leave him with one last kiss that lasted all but a second and it was a moment that Merlin knew he'd never forget. "Goodbye," the King whispered against his lips and Merlin waited until his front door had been closed until he opened his eyes. His fingers instantly raising to touch his lips.

"Goodbye," he said into the silent room and rolled over to face his window. Only to see that his drawer was open. He could have sworn he shut that last night. Leaning forward, he reached inside for his note and looked at it in curiosity. What once read 'I love you' now had some words underneath.

_With All My Heart_

* * *

Arthur rubbed his temples as the council left the hall and he took a seat, finding every day that passed was another day that drove him closer to insanity. His life just consisted of paperwork, discussing things that he never knew his Father did and there hadn't even been a moment when he could pick up a sword. The people who had once been the closest thing he had to be his friends, now treated him like he was the King and never joked around with him. He had never felt so alone.

"My lord, are you okay?" Morgana appeared at the door and he looked up to smile at her half heartedly.

"If I said I was okay, would you believe me?" He asked and she shook her head, walking down the length of the table to come and stand at his side. "I never knew being King would be so … exhausting. I don't know how my Father did it for so long."

"Practice. You've only been King for a few weeks, give yourself a chance."

"My Father has been preparing me to be King, I would have thought I'd be better at it than this. I dread waking up every morning. I look forward to sleeping." He put his head in his hands and closed his eyes, "And I can't get him off my mind."

"Why don't you go and see him? I hear he's missing you just as much."

"You're just saying that."

"Okay, maybe I am, but that's only because I don't actually know how he's doing. Last time I went to visit, Gwen said he'd been out most of the time and came back late at night. They think he's searching for Morgause, after all, she still has his magic. He'll never rest easy until he gets it back." She placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly, "What can I do to help you?"

"Just help me get through the days without wanting to call it quits."

* * *

It was the dead of night when Arthur was awoken from his slumber and he sat up to see a cloaked figure pacing the length of his room. "Merlin, is that you?"

"Arthur, you're awake!" The sorcerer was over by the bed a second later and he pushed his hood off to reveal his pale, thin face. "I didn't want to wake you, I thought I could wait but I had to tell you," he sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled. "I found her Arthur! She was right under my nose the whole time. Hiding. Waiting for her moment."

"You found Morgause?"

"Yes! I've been searching all this time, hoping something would turn up. I was beginning to lose hope, thinking she'd remain in hiding for years just to be safe, but then I heard a rumor that a woman had appeared out of thin air in this small village. I went to check it out and she was there, in broad daylight, pretending she was just any ordinary person living out her life how she wanted. All I have to do is sneak into her room, wound her enough to draw blood and I'll get my magic back. Everything will be okay. I'll be me again!"

Arthur grabbed him by the shoulders and held him still, "You need to take a moment and think about this Merlin. You have no idea how powerful she is and even if you have some power, she might have more. She could hurt you."

"I won't let her get the chance. Think about it Arthur. I defeat her and I can be free, do what I want, see the world without worrying about what she's doing with my magic." Merlin looked so happy it was hard to believe it was the same person he'd met all those months ago. "I needed to tell someone. If I told the others, they'd want to come with me and it's too risky."

"Maybe that's a clue that you shouldn't be going if you think the others will see it as being too risky. Just stop and take a deep breath. You've found her which is the first step, next is planning on how to surprise her and then you should take back up incase something happens. Let me get Morgana and she'll-"

"No! You're not listening to me. I can end this. Tonight. No more waiting, no more sleepless nights." Merlin fell sideways onto the bed and Arthur looked down at him, seeing pure joy covering his face. "Just you watch me. I'll get my magic back and show the world that Emrys hasn't gone anywhere. I'll make you proud." His eyes drifted close and Arthur smiled a little.

"I don't think you've been Emrys for a while now Merlin. Emrys wouldn't have come here to tell me where he was going. Wouldn't smile like the happiest person alive." Reaching over, Arthur gently brushed the hair from Merlin's forehead and saw that his breathing had deepened. The sorcerer had fallen fast asleep. "Emrys wouldn't have told me he loved me," he added quietly and got out of bed. He easily moved Merlin so he was lying comfortably with his head on the pillow and a sheet covering him. Arthur was quick to lie down beside him.

It had been three long months since he'd last seen Merlin. He looked tired, pale and thin. He obviously hadn't been looking after himself and no one had been helping him. Tracing the scar on the man's face, he wished that he'd been there for him but knew he couldn't have been, it wasn't fair on either of them. To see each other all the time and not be able to … do anything. Unbeknown to Merlin, he already was getting hints that he should marry, a wife at his side would help him during the tough times apparently. So why couldn't he imagine another sleeping beside him but Merlin?

"I've missed you," he quietly admitted and closed his eyes. Knowing if he was to stop Merlin from doing something stupid, he would have to wake early tomorrow to stop him leaving whilst getting Morgana here. Somehow he'd manage it. Especially since it would stop Merlin from doing something that could get him killed. Again.

* * *

**Happieface03 was kind enough to point out to me that I'd made a mistake and I couldn't let it slide, hence this was uploaded twice. Thank you.**

**Not my longest chapter. I apologise, I'm still figuring out where to take this story.**

**Either I'll keep it going a little longer and write Merlin getting his magic back, OR I'll do a time jump to when he returns to Arthur's side … oh what to do.**

**Hope you enjoyed it and don't hate me too much for what I did at the start. Arthur has yet to actually admit what he feels out loud. Cruel I know.**


	25. Tricking A Sorcerer

**Tricking A Sorcerer**

* * *

Merlin didn't know what he noticed first. The fact that he was in a different bed compared to his usual one or that someone's warm breath was brushing the back of his neck. Opening his eyes slowly, he glanced over his shoulder to see none other than Arthur, who had never looked so peaceful. Frowning, Merlin sat up in the bed and put a hand to his head. When did he come here? Why wasn't he back in his own bed? "Think Emrys," he muttered and then it all came flooding back.

He'd found Morgause last night after almost giving up on searching for her and in the moment, he had decided that coming to tell Arthur was a good idea. After that everything was a little fuzzy. However by the looks of things it, Merlin had fallen asleep and Arthur had been good enough to help him into bed. Realising that he finally had a chance to defeat Morgause, Merlin smiled and lay back, pushing the hair from his face for no apparent reason.

"You look happy," Arthur's voice spoke up beside him and Merlin turned his head to see two blue eyes staring back at him. "What you thinking about?"

"Just … stuff," there was no point talking about it yet. Not when they finally had a moment alone together. Turning over, Merlin leant against Arthur's side and lightly trailed his fingers across his chest. "How'd you sleep?"

"A lot better then usual," Arthur admitted and brushed the hair across Merlin's forehead. "Being King means I have a lot of things on my mind. Most of which decide to haunt me just before I go to sleep. I never imagined being King would mean feeling like …" he paused as if thinking for a word but found none, "this."

"You should have contacted me, I could have helped you."

"That wouldn't have been fair on either of us," he lifted his head and lightly brushed his lips against Merlin's. "I wouldn't have been able to resist you."

"I thought being with me wouldn't be simple and should be left alone," Merlin commented.

"That hasn't changed. I'm King now, I have responsibilities and can't put my needs … my wants, before everything else." Merlin's breath caught in his throat as a warm hand slipped beneath his cloak, which was still held around his neck, and rested against his back. "You really shouldn't have come here. It's one thing stopping myself when I'd have to travel leagues to get to you but when you're in the same bed, within touching distance … a man can only resist so much."

His heart was pounding in his chest and Merlin knew it wouldn't take much to get exactly what he wanted from the man lying beside him. Besides, deep down, he knew that if things went badly with Morgause, it would hurt Arthur too much if they went any further then they already had. Which was barely a few kisses here and there. Closing his eyes briefly, he indulged himself in a soft kiss with his Prince who was now a King and wondered if they could ever be together.

"Hey," he broke them apart with sadness in his eyes and he hid it away easily. Smiling at Arthur, he patted him on the chest and said, "How about you go get us some breakfast? We can catch up, talk about what's been going on, I can tell you what chaos has been happening back home. Latest news, a certain two people might be engaged."

Arthur smiled and got out of bed as Merlin shifted over to his side, "I think I know who it is but I'll let you tell me when I get back." After changing into something, Arthur left the room in search of food, knowing he couldn't bring anyone into the room with Merlin being there. The sorcerer was left alone and he sat up, staring at the huge room where Arthur now slept. It was much bigger compared to his old room. Not that he'd admit it, but Merlin had seen it once when he'd missed Arthur and gone to check on him.

Knowing he had to go now before he changed his mind, Merlin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "_Céosan_," he whispered and was gone a moment later. Appearing in the village where he last saw Morgause, the cloak was adjusted so it covered him and his hood raised, making sure his identity was hidden.

Slipping down an alley, he made sure to keep to the shadows and sought out Morgause's home. It was close if he remembered right. As he rounded the final corner, Merlin peered through the window he'd spotted her through yesterday and saw that the house was empty. Odd. Whispering another spell, he appeared inside and looked around. His eyes hadn't deceived him, she really wasn't here. It didn't make sense. The hour was early and she didn't have a job to get too. Morgause should be sleeping soundly in her bed right now.

Merlin was about to return home when he felt a sense of magic in the air and he turned on the spot, his cloak flowing around him from the quick movement and his eyes focused on a piece of parchment that hadn't been there before. Moving closer, he picked it up carefully with his gloved covered hand and turned it over to read what it said.

_How you survived, I do not know._

_However because of what you did, I now know your biggest weakness._

_Darkness will fall upon Camelot and nothing you can do will stop it._

_M_

* * *

Arthur was half way to the kitchens when his footsteps began to slow, his mind going back to how Merlin had wanted him to suddenly get food. Surely if he was hungry, he could use his magic and … oh no. He was already running back down the corridor and barely noticed Morgana as he passed her, throwing open his bedroom doors in a hurry. "Merlin?" He called and looked towards the bed. It was empty. There was no sign that Merlin had ever been there. "Merlin!"

"Arthur, what's going on?" Morgana asked as she stepped through the open doors.

"He's about to do something stupid. Merlin found Morgause and now he's gone to get .. her .. what on earth is going on out there?" Arthur questioned as he saw the Kingdom beginning to darken and he moved forward, going out onto the balcony to see something he couldn't believe. It was the shape of a human but it was completely black and was larger then anything he'd ever seen. The beast, whatever it was, loomed over the Kingdom and created a shadow that covered them in darkness.

"What is that?" Morgana questioned and grabbed his hand, holding it tightly in her own. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Morgana, get out of here." Arthur commanded and pushed her back inside his chambers, hiding her from view. "Go back to the others, hide there, don't come back until its safe."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll protect … you." A frown covered her face and Arthur was going to ask what was wrong except he was suddenly having to catch her falling body.

"Morgana, what's wrong?" He held her tightly as her body suddenly began to shake and there was such pain in her eyes that Arthur's fingers dug into her arms, "What's happening? Talk to me. Tell me."

"She can't," a woman spoke from the balcony and he looked over his shoulder to see Morgause stood there like she belonged there. "I've put a spell on your Kingdom my lord. Every sorcerer that passes under the shadow has to face their worst nightmare. Right now I'm thinking she's reliving the moments when she was taken. I doubt even you know what happened that night." Arthur looked back at Morgana to see tears flowing down her face, "Such sadness for someone so young."

"Why are you doing this? You promised Merlin Camelot was safe."

"That's when I thought he was dead. Turns out, he's very much alive and it's time for a little bit of payback for him poisoning me. I lost an entire army because of him." She gracefully walked towards him and Arthur scooped Morgana into his arms, getting to his feet so he could move away. "No need to be afraid of me Sire, you are simply the bait. My only goal is to get Merlin's attention and what better way then to use the one thing against him that he cares for?"

"You think I'm going to let you use me to get to him? I'm not that easy."

Running through the open doors, Arthur sprinted through the castle with the little girl in his arms, seeking out anyone who could help him. However everyone seemed to have vanished. "Hello? Anyone?" Arthur yelled as he sensed someone chasing him and he bashed his shoulder against the wooden door so he could get out into the courtyard, both his arms occupied with Morgana. However he skidded to a halt when he saw Morgause stood in his path and the beast that darkened the Kingdom now towered over the palace, making day turn into night.

"You can't run from me. No one can escape someone as powerful as me. Merlin will regret the day he ever poisoned me."

* * *

Transporting to Camelot in the blink of an eye after going home for a bit, Merlin appeared in Arthur's chambers and found that they were empty. His heart racing in panic, he dashed out onto the balcony to see Arthur stood alone in the courtyard, his back to the palace. "Thank heavens," he muttered and ran through the castle until he was approaching the King from behind. "Arthur, everything okay? Why are you standing there?" When the King didn't respond, Merlin frowned and moved to stand in front of him. "Arthur?"

He didn't move. Arthur just stared at him and his entire body stayed still, like he was a statue. "This isn't funny Arthur. Stop kidding around." As he went forward to grasp Arthur's shoulders, the blue eyes darted up and that was the only warning he had before a shadow passed over them. Suddenly everything went very cold and Merlin went to his knees as pain began to fill him, a pain that was all too familiar. "What … Arthur?"

"I'm sorry, she made me." The King could move once more and dropped to his knees in front of him, his eyes filled with sadness. "She's cast a spell so that every sorcerer sees their worst nightmare. I tried to run, she wanted to use me to get you here, but she was too strong." Merlin gasped as he felt memories returning that he kept buried for a reason and Arthur held his hand tightly. "Fight it Merlin. Whatever you see, know it's not real. You're here, with me."

"No he's not," Morgause said and floated towards the ground since she had been watching from a rooftop nearby. "Merlin is about to see things that no man should. There is a reason there was so much hatred in his heart. He's faced people who tortured him for being who he was, watched his mother die, gone through so many lonely nights as a child where he had no one to protect him and to add to it, the new memories of thinking you betrayed him. I doubt he's going to be much of a threat to me anymore."

"Then I'll fight you," Arthur claimed and got to his feet. Moving in between the two sorcerers as Merlin clutched his head, Arthur knew he stood little chance with no sword or power but he was going to try anyway. The idiot. "Your magic still won't work against me Morgause or have you forgotten about that?"

"Oh, don't worry about that Sire. I got that fixed." Arthur flew through the air as a spell hit him hard in the chest and Merlin clutched his cloak as his breathing deepened, knowing he had to get up. He couldn't let Morgause do this. His nightmares wouldn't win. "How you doing there Merlin? Seen your dead mother yet?"

He turned his gaze to look at Morgause and instead saw his Mother, the memory of his final moments with his Mother surfacing. However, it wasn't when she died. It was the last day she'd been with him before she left for Camelot to beg the King for help. She wore a sad smile, her clothes worn out and old. This was his Mother and Morgause wasn't the first one to try and use her against him. Getting to his feet, Merlin stood tall and witnessed the shadow covering him grow stronger.

Lifting his eyes to the sky, he saw the shadow beast crouch down and Merlin knew that until that thing was gone, the people in Camelot with magic would suffer. "Why aren't you on the ground like the rest of them? You should be worse then all of them put together." Morgause pointed out.

Turning slowly on the spot, Merlin found that he wasn't afraid when facing her, since he knew what lay inside her was actually a part of him. The beast was giving him the darkness he often craved in order to hide away from everyone and although Arthur was passed out, he knew he was safe. "Tell me Morgause, what did you hope to gain from all this?"

"Revenge. Simple as. You didn't answer my question."

"I've spent my entire life dealing with my past, I dream every night about my Mother's death and through the years I've realised that nothing can be done about the past, therefore there's no need to be afraid of it. What's done is done. However now it's time for you to go," Merlin raised his hand and Morgause put a shield around herself. "You're using my magic there Morgause. If there's one person who can get through your barrier, it's me."

"No, you can't. Besides, you can't take the magic back without transference through the blood."

"There are other secrets I've discovered through the years." Removing his glove from his right hand, Merlin faced his symbol towards her and knew this was risky. However it had to be done. "_Edcierr_," he said forcefully and the ground around them began to shake as Morgause fought off the spell. Unfortunately for her, she had no chance in fighting it when the magic he used was no longer his own but that which belonged to a dragon.

* * *

**Short again, but I thought this was a good place to leave it.**

**Hope you enjoyed and please review! I'd really like to know what you think of where this is going. Either 1 or 2 more chapters left =( Sad that it's coming to an end**


	26. Having A Choice

**Having A Choice**

* * *

Merlin closed his eyes as his magic began to return to him. He hadn't admitted it, but the magic inside him before had felt foreign and unlike the magic entering him now, it hadn't been a part of him in quite some time. Many had used it for their own gain and done things with his magic that he knew were wrong by how tainted it felt, at least now he could have a part of himself back. Even if it meant taking it from Morgause.

The sorcerer fell to her knees as the magic was drained from her and she clutched her chest, struggling to breathe as her body tried to fight off the spell. It was no use though. She couldn't do anything to stop this from happening. The spell he used was only possible because of his symbols, the dragons magic channeled through them and there was no doubt that the dragon would seek him out later. Demanding to know why Merlin had used his magic so suddenly without permission.

"Please, stop." Morgause whispered and her body now lay on the ground as he felt the last of his magic go into him. Dropping his hand, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes, seeing everything more clearly. He finally felt like himself again and never had he felt so powerful. Ever single drop of magic he'd ever had was now back inside him and no longer was he tied to anyone, he was free. "I'll come back," a whisper came from the exhausted woman and Merlin dropped his gaze to her. "You may think you've won but I'll find a way to get your magic. This isn't over."

"Are you threatening me?" Merlin asked with amusement.

"You think you're untouchable," she commented and pushed herself to her feet slowly. Her body swaying a little in the process. "He isn't though," Merlin didn't have to look over his shoulder to know she was looking at Arthur. "The moment you leave his side, I'll take him. You have your magic but I still have my own, I'm powerful enough to still be your enemy. From now on, you'll either have to live with the fact that he's always going to need saving or you'll have to stay with him. Forever. Trapped inside a castle where you can't be yourself."

"Then I'll take your magic," he simply stated and she took a step back in shock. "I have no intention of being trapped in this castle where I don't belong and until your dead or can no longer use magic, it's not an option to leave. Therefore I'll take it all." Merlin raised his hand and without much thought created a barrier around them so she couldn't run.

"It could kill me if you take my magic!"

"I've killed lesser people then you Morgause," he replied and tried to ignore the memories surfacing as the beast loomed over them. "Drincan." The spell wasn't hard to do. It didn't even take much magic to perform and he watched calmly as the magic began to leave her, the yellow streams drifting towards him in search of a new host. Morgause attempted to get away, her arms banged against the barrier and tears streamed down her face.

He understood why she was upset, he didn't deny that. Without magic, Merlin wouldn't know what to do with himself and life wouldn't be worth living. However it was a little different for her. She had once had no magic, she'd chosen to learn it and become powerful. Merlin had been born with magic, it was a part of him. "I beg you, don't!" Morgause yelled and attempted to grab the streams of magic in an attempt to get it back.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" Arthur's voice made Merlin waver and the spell broke, unfortunately leaving some magic still inside Morgause. Turning his head a little, Merlin looked back over his shoulder to see Arthur stood there with a frown on his face, some blood dripping down his arm from where he'd fallen.

"I'm making sure she can't hurt-" _you_ "-anyone ever again."

"You don't have to do it this way though. Send her somewhere far away so that she can't come back. She has done a lot of terrible things but that doesn't mean you should kill her," Arthur replied.

"I'm sorry, am I seriously hearing this?" Merlin turned now so his back was to Morgause and he was facing Arthur. "Your Father has killed so many of my kind for simply being alive. They did not curse, kidnap or kill people. How can you defend her when you know how much she's done?"

Arthur didn't respond right away, he just stared at Merlin in silence and thoughts ran through his head on how to answer. "This isn't you Merlin," he said softly and took a step forward. "You're not a killer. Not once has there ever been any mention of you killing someone just because they'd hurt another-"

"Mention? You read stories, hear rumors and listen to gossip about me, but none of you really know what happens every time I save someone. Most of the time I have to pry the victims from their captures dead hands because they refused to give them up and I had no choice but to kill them. One time I had to kill over a dozen men because I discovered they kidnapped women from villagers just for their own amusement and I knew they'd never stop. At least when you're King, you don't have to do the dirty work. I don't have that luxury."

"Then stop now. Spare her and let me pass judgement upon her as a King. I can make sure she'll never return."

"You don't have the power to keep her away," Merlin stated and pulled his hood further over his head to stop the sunlight now beaming down on Camelot. With most of Morgause's power gone, she could no longer keep the spell up to keep the beast alive and now it vanished into thin air. Merlin now no longer having the shadows to hide his identity from anyone who should stumble upon them.

* * *

He had never seen Merlin like this before. No longer was he the smiling idiot who told him stories about the things he'd seen. Merlin was now the man people talked about in the streets when they heard something strange was happening. He was Emrys. There was no kindness in his eyes, no forgiveness in his actions and Arthur bet that if he hadn't stopped him, Morgause would be lying on the floor close to death. "What were you planning to do? Kill her?"

"No, just take her magic. She'll more than likely survive the transference and then you can pass judgement upon her."

"You've taken enough. Just stop doing what you're doing and leave her to the knights who will take her down to the cells." Arthur walked forward and something invisible stopped him from getting closer. Raising a hand, he pressed it against the barrier and looked at Merlin softly. "Come back to my room with me and we can forget this ever happened. You don't have to defend Camelot anymore. You've done enough."

"I can't do that."

"Then you leave me no choice," Arthur unsheathed his sword and held it out in front of him. He saw the recognition go through Merlin's eyes which was then followed with what looked like sadness. "You say you've taken most of her magic? Then right now, you're attacking a defenseless woman who can't fight back. You have to know that's not right and I have to stop you."

"You're seriously going to fight me in order to protect her? After everything I've done for you and everything she's done too you?"

"It is my duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves. That was once what you did as well," Arthur confidently stepped through the barrier after remembering how he did it for Merlin's home and the warlock removed his second glove calmly. "I don't want to fight you Merlin but you leave me no choice."

"Everyone has a choice."

"Then make yours. Right now, because I know for a fact your magic won't work on me. You don't stand a chance against me with hand to hand combat." He watched as Merlin waved his hand and a sword appeared, the sun hitting the edges showed just how sharp it was. Before he could blink, Merlin crossed the distance between them and their swords clashed together with a loud sound. Both men staring at the other with determination. "I won't let you turn into a man who thinks they have the right to kill."

"You sound more and more like your Father every day," Merlin bitterly replied and swung his sword, causing Arthur to step back to avoid injury. "You think you can defeat me just because I can't use my magic against you? Think again." Arthur couldn't believe it when Merlin swung his sword at him in a way that Arthur knew took years to master, if he hadn't of ducked, that maneuver would have sliced him right across the neck so that he would bleed out.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Arthur exclaimed.

"You're the one who started this, remember? Just because of our history, it doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you. You mean nothing to me at the end of the day and-"

"Bullshit," neither realised they'd stopped fighting now. "You wrote that note when you thought you were going to die and it could have been to anyone, yet it was to me. You were hurt when I didn't say it back, when I didn't tell you I loved you, if I meant nothing to you, then you would have never come back to save me." When Merlin didn't respond, Arthur sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he thought of what to say. "There's no reason for us to fight. We can work this …" he drifted off when he saw that Merlin now stood perfectly still, his arms at his side with the sword touching the floor. It was like he had suddenly turned into a statue. "Merlin?"

"For two people who are meant to be so powerful, you really aren't observant." Morgause said from behind Merlin and Arthur watched in horror as she withdrew a dagger she'd just stabbed into Merlin's back.

"He's survived a sword going through his stomach before Morgause, I hardly think-"

"This wasn't to injure him, your Majesty, I just needed to gain access to his blood to get my magic back." Merlin moved away from her and turned, putting himself between the two of them incase she decided to use her magic against the King. "Oh look who decided to join us."

Arthur looked to where she was watching and saw Morgana emerge out of nowhere, her body pale with exhaustion from the beast's power. She stumbled forward and kept her green eyes on Arthur, seeing him as her safety. His head wiped around to look back at Morgause but she was already putting her hand forward, a spell leaving her lips before he could react. However Merlin was already running towards Morgana, his intent to protect her obvious as barriers began to appear across the courtyard.

Merlin was already bringing Morgana into his arms as the spell shot out and Arthur felt triumph when it was destroyed against a barrier. Her plan failing. Except there was a smile on Morgause's face as she took a step forward and only Arthur was within hearing distance when she said, "From beneath you it devours."

"Merlin-" he began to yell but another spell was yelled from the sorcerer and Arthur watched in horror as the ground beneath Merlin vanished. Time seemed to slow down as Arthur began running through the barriers to get to him and as Merlin began to fall, Arthur reached out and grabbed his hand. His body slamming against the hard ground on the edge of the hole as he held Merlin's weight. "Just hold on, I'll get you out."

"Let me go Arthur," Merlin said softly and Arthur stared down at him in confusion. "Morgana fell," he simply added and Arthur looked down into the darkness where there was no sign of any life. Anything could be down there. There was no way he was letting Merlin go. "You have to let me go. I need to go find her."

"Don't be an idiot. You have no idea what's down there. She might already be dead."

"She's not," he replied.

"You can't know that."

"I do know that. Just like I know that you're going to be okay." Arthur shook his head and felt Merlin's weight increase as the warlock let go, the only thing keeping him up was Arthur's firm hold on his wrists. "I've seen what happens Arthur," that statement made Arthur's eyes move to the symbol on Merlin's hand and he realised that Merlin must have seen the future somehow. "Everything is going to be okay. I'm going to get her back but you have to let me go."

"You could be lying to me," Arthur hissed between gritted teeth and tensed as his grip faulted.

"You have a choice to make," Merlin replied quietly and Arthur had never seen him look so calm. Didn't he realise what situation they were in. "It's your choice whether you trust me or not Arthur. I can make you let me go or you can chose to do it yourself."

"How can I let you go? I don't know what's going to happen, unlike you."

"What's going to happen is that until I return, you will create a Kingdom like no other and become a King that anyone would be proud to have."

"You speak like I won't see you for a long time."

A sad smile came to Merlin's lips and everything seemed to fall silent. Arthur realised he was right. If he let go, he wasn't going to see Merlin for a very long time. It had been hard enough these past few weeks, he couldn't imagine not seeing him any longer than that. "If I'm going to let you go, I have to tell you something. I have to tell you I-"

"Don't say it," Merlin stopped him with a firm tone and his fingers wrapped around Arthur's wrist. "This isn't goodbye so don't treat it as such." Arthur gasped as he felt something warm flow through his hand and suddenly Merlin wasn't in his grasp anymore. He was falling into the darkness and there was nothing he could do to stop it. "Merlin!"

Silence answered him and it was only when two soft hands pulled him away that he saw that he wasn't alone. Stood in the courtyard was every sorcerer that had been in the Druid camp, along with the three normal humans, one of which knelt by his side with her hands holding him still. "He'll be back," Gwen told him and he noticed Morgause being held down by a couple of sorcerers with their magic nearby.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur asked quietly.

"We're here to protect you whilst he can't."

* * *

The ground was firm when Merlin used his magic to break his fall and he crouched on the ground as he waited for his heart to calm down. That fall had felt like it had taken forever and not once had he managed to convince himself that everything would be okay. He had believed he'd been falling to his death even though he knew he had a future ahead of him.

The thing was, when Morgause had hesitated before sending her second spell at himself and Morgana. He'd touched Morgana's hand and saw her future, saw that she stood in a world where beasts roamed the land, where no humans had ever discovered and there was no one to help her. No one but him. He'd see his cloaked figure battling the beasts with his magic as he ran across the land with Morgana, a determined look on his face and a direction in mind. Next he had seen Morgana huddled next to a fire, except she'd been a lot older and his cloaked figure had sat next to her, his appearance hidden.

He knew that he'd spend many years in the place he now found himself and Merlin found he wasn't afraid. All he would concentrate on was saving Morgana and getting her home. At least that way, he didn't have to think about the King he'd left behind.

So as he got to his feet, Merlin felt his lips part in amazement as he looked down from the ledge he'd landed on. Below was miles of land, some parts covered in trees, other parts completely covered in sand. Small creatures could be made out in the distance and he knew that those were the beasts he'd seen when looking into Morgana's future.

She was down there somewhere, by herself, with no one to protect her and only he could save her.

**

* * *

Sorry for such a slow update. Got a new game for the DS and it was highly addictive. Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter.**

**Thanks for the reviews everyone :) Only one more chapter to go which will be when Morgana returns to Camelot in the future. However if people want a chapter about what happens when she's down in the weird land with Merlin, all you have to do is say and I'll deliver.**

**Keep reviewing and I promise to update quicker.**


	27. Underneath A World

**Underneath A World**

**

* * *

The First Day**

* * *

Lifting his gaze from the ground, Merlin looked over at the sleeping girl who was curled up inside his cloak on the cold ground, only a small enough gap to allow her to breathe visible. Morgana had been smart. She'd gone to the forest upon arrival and found a plant that was the same colour as her dress, she'd then hidden inside it as well as putting a weak barrier around herself. It was the barrier that had allowed him to find her since he could sense where magic had been used.

Now she slept as he watched over, the darkness, of whatever place they were now in, had covered the land and Merlin had told Morgana to rest. At first she had refused, said that it wasn't fair that he should stay up, to which he quickly reminded her that she was the one who had been weakened by the spell. Not him. When she'd curled up by the fire, he had given her his cloak to keep her warm and put his own spell over them so the air felt warmer. Wherever they were, the air was cold and no person could survive here without some form of magic to cast spells.

So far only a few beasts had appeared from the trees to investigate the new source of light and when they'd realised they couldn't get past his barrier, they simply lay on the ground in hopes of catching some of the warmth for themselves. If he didn't know they'd kill him the first chance they got, he'd be tempted to drop the barrier to help them. Instead he let small bursts of heat radiate out of the barrier in hopes of giving them a reason not to attack them in the future days to come.

Turning his head to the side, he looked up at the ledge he had first arrived on and then further up into what he could only presume was the sky. There was no sign of where he'd come in and he doubted there was a way out. However, the beasts in the real world had to come from somewhere and if they came from here, there had to be a way to pass between the worlds. He just had to find it. For now, his main priority was protecting Morgana until she got her strength back and finding some way to survive on this plain of existence.

Merlin knew that every moment they were here was another moment he felt on edge and unsafe.

**

* * *

The Tenth Day**

* * *

"When was the last time you slept?" Morgana asked as she handed him back his cloak and he shrugged, pulling it over his shoulders so he didn't have to carry it. "You can't just stay awake all the time Merlin. I can keep watch and wake you if I think somethings wrong. Your barriers will hold. We're safe." She was so innocent sometimes that it was beginning to annoy him. Everyday she claimed that this was just an adventure and how everything would be okay. How little she knew.

He hadn't seen her return to Camelot when he saw her future. All he did know was that she grew older in this land they were in and when Arthur had pointed out it sounded like they wouldn't see each other for a long time, he could be right. For once Merlin didn't know and he'd even attempted to use his symbols to see Morgana's future or his own, however for some reason they weren't working, no matter what he did, they were just marks on his skin now.

"Why are they watching us?" Morgana said quietly as she sat down beside him on the ground and he looked over towards the beasts that had remained near their 'camp' during the night. Every night new beasts came, all except one which returned every night and Merlin had often seen glimpses of wisdom in its eyes. Like it knew what was to come. "They're weird."

"To them, we're the weird ones. I doubt any of them have seen people before and during the night, it's probably rare for any light source to appear. They're just curious. If beasts suddenly set up camp in Camelot, people would probably watch them closely too, just to see what they were doing." He lifted his hood over his head to cover himself from the sunlight and leant back against the tree behind him. "I can make the barrier bigger if you're scared they're too close."

"No, it's alright. I know I'm safe in here." She nudged his arm and only when he lifted it, did Morgana snuggle into his side as his arm dropped over her shoulder. "You're a lot like Arthur," she commented and he looked down at her in question. "He used to sit with me like this, when we were captured I mean. He'd tell me stories until I fell asleep and I wouldn't have any nightmares."

"Who needs nightmares when you're stuck here," Merlin muttered and met the eyes of the beast who kept returning.

**

* * *

The Forty-third Day**

* * *

"Merlin, wake up! Merlin!" He was woken up by two small hands shaking his shoulders and he opened his eyes to see her wide green ones staring back. "Somethings wrong. They're making weird sounds." Morgana moved aside so he could see what she was talking about and when his vision adjusted to the light, he saw all the beasts on their feet, their eyes on the sky as they called out to something. If he didn't know any better, they were sounds of pain.

Looking around for the regular, he saw it in the distance, standing out in the open land and being completely still. Unlike the others, it wasn't crying out. Without thinking, Merlin put out the fire with a quick spell and pulled Morgana into a nearby bush with his cloak covering them both. "Stay down and don't look, don't make a sound." She didn't argue and just sat there, staring at the ground as he peered through the leaves to see what was going on.

His heart went still as a shadow flew over them and Merlin tried to see what had been the cause. All he could see was the beasts gathering on the open land, none of them making a sound, all with their eyes locked to the sky.

When he thought nothing was going to happen, he let out a small sigh of relief and that's when the loudest cry he'd ever heard erupted from the sky. It was loud enough to make him cover his ears and shrink back into the bushes, fearing that if he saw what was the cause, he'd never sleep again. Looking over at Morgana, he saw tears flowing down her face as she silently sobbed, fear overwhelming her from the situation at hand.

Sitting down on the ground, Merlin pulled her into his lap and surrounded her in his cloak as well as his arms. Holding her tightly as the sound echoed throughout the land and he heard the faint whisper of something landing on the ground in the distance. Morgana began to shake as the cry died down and instead was replaced with sound of footsteps approaching them. Loud, big ones. "_Clústor_," he whispered the spell and surrounded them in a barrier. Normally he didn't have to put much thought behind his protection spells but this time he made sure to make it a powerful one as the footsteps neared.

"_Clústor_," he repeated and when darkness covered them, Merlin looked up. Through the gaps in the leaves, he saw two large, orange eyes staring back at him in curiosity. Eyes that looked about the size of his fist. "_Clústor_," another barrier circled them and he tensed as a large claw appeared from the darkness to scratch the barrier. Luckily it held. "It's alright," he comforted Morgana softly as she remained clueless to what was going on outside the cloak she was protected in. "We're safe. They're just playing. Nothing's out there."

He didn't know when the beast finally left but when it did, he finally felt like he could breathe and Merlin kept Morgana in his arms. Knowing it could easily come back. They stayed where they were for the remainder of the night and every hour or so, he put up another barrier, not trusting the ones he'd already put up. If that thing came back, they might not be so lucky next time.

**

* * *

The Nighty-fifth Day**

* * *

"I know it's not much, you can throw it away."

"Don't be stupid. I love it." Morgana held the tiny stone dragon in her hand and stared at it happily, the first smile he'd seen in days upon her lips. He had remembered a few days ago that Gwen had once told him Morgana's birthday, it had been a random conversation not worth remembering but it had occurred to him that this was her first birthday without her family. Plus the fact she was in another world. So he'd taken the time during the night to mold a stone he found nearby into a dragon using his magic. It seemed she liked it more then he thought she would.

"I'm sorry that you have to spend your birthday here … with me, I know I'm not the best company and you'd rather be with-"

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Merlin. This is a beautiful gift and I'll treasure it forever." She gently placed it on the ground and grasped his bare hands, the gloves now no longer needed. "When is your birthday? Just incase we're still here and I need to have time to prepare something."

"Honestly? I don't remember. My last birthday was celebrated when I was eight and after a few years, it turned into another day. For all I know, it could have been and gone since we got here." He didn't feel sorry for himself, he'd had a lot more pressing matters then his birthday to remember during the years and it was just another day. Nothing special.

"Everyone should have a birthday!" Morgana exclaimed and got to her feet. Hurrying over to the patch of grass nearby, she returned moments later and presented him with a small blue flower. "You can share my birthday. That way, we can celebrate it together every year. Here is your first present, it's not much since you didn't give me much time to prepare but I'll do better next year." She smiled at him as he gently picked up the flower between his fingers and he lifted it up to take a closer look. It was so delicate, nothing like Morgana.

He was learning everyday that she stronger than most and no longer did she crawl into his lap when things made sounds during the night. It was only when the largest of beasts appeared that she became afraid, even then she kept a brave face and only showed fear when she was hidden under his cloak.

Lifting his free hand, he cupped the side of her face and softly smiled in return. "I love it Morgana, thank you. I'll always keep it safe."

**

* * *

The Three-hundred and Eighth Day**

* * *

"On the count of three. One. Two-"

"Three!" Morgana shot out from the trees and into the open land, her steps fast, precise and light. She could barely be seen as she moved and Merlin shook his head in annoyance, it was times like these he knew would get her killed. Following quickly after her, he soon caught up and didn't have to look over his shoulder to see the beasts chasing them. Unlike when they were set up for the night, barriers couldn't be put up around them since they were moving so fast and Morgana said it would be easier to just use their magic to fasten their movements.

Merlin turned on the spot as he felt the breath of a beast on his neck and yelled, "_Andfeng_!" The beast flew through the air and took out three of the others. Facing forward once more, Merlin did a spell without having to speak and leapt high into the air. Landing on the branch of a tree, he ran over the larger branches and chased after Morgana who was now leading the way.

"How far do we need to go?" Morgana yelled back and he quickened his pace to get infront of her, not daring to speak incase the beasts heard them from below.

When they eventually found a safe place to land, Merlin dropped to the ground and put up barriers which the running beasts crashed into just as Morgana slipped inside. She pushed herself up from the ground with grace and then lifted her arms into the air, "That was fun! I love running like that!" After twirling around a few times, she got started in making a fire as night was fast approaching and he watched her silently.

She hadn't noticed it but she was aging a lot faster than she should. At first it had been small things. The way she thought, walked, behaved. However her body was beginning to change and the shape of a woman was beginning to form. In a little under a year, she had turned from an eight year old into one who looked more like fourteen. At this rate, unless he got them out, she was going to waste her younger years here.

At first he thought maybe time flowed faster here but when they had found a small lake, he had seen his reflection. He hadn't aged a bit. In fact, he looked younger. No longer did he have the lines on his face from worry or stress, his skin looked fresher and the scar going across his face was fainter. This world didn't make sense and he doubted he'd ever understand it.

"Merlin, stop thinking and start helping me. I'm not the only one who uses this camp you know."

**

* * *

The Five-hundredth and Second Day**

* * *

"I hate this! I hate my life! I hate you!" Morgana screamed and stormed away in anger, her hand flicking to the side to put up her own barrier between them. She knew he could easily get through it but Merlin wouldn't. She needed time to cool off and he himself needed some space.

In a little over a month they would have been stuck here for 18 months and it was beginning to take its toll on Morgana. She was tired of running. Hiding from the beasts that chased them day after day and most of all, she was bored. There was only so much you could play 'guess what I'm drawing in the ground with a stick' before going crazy. Merlin knew she didn't mean what she said, it couldn't blame her for acting this way.

Stepping out past the trees, Merlin walked out onto the cliff edge and looked down at the land below. It had taken them a little over a week to get up here and now that they were, he knew it would take a lot to move them. Up here they were safer compared to down there. Most of the beasts couldn't get up here without effort and many didn't bother.

"You don't have to hide, I know you're there." Merlin spoke up and looked over his shoulder to see the regular beast emerge from the bushes. It slowly came forward and then sat down on a nearby boulder, staring at Merlin like usual. No matter what Merlin did, the beast wouldn't leave and it was now unusual to go through a day without seeing it. The odd thing was, unlike the others, it didn't attack them. Merlin had experimented by dropping his barriers from time to time and it remained still, never showing any signs of being a threat. So it was times like now that Merlin didn't bother with his spells.

"I'm so sick of being here," Merlin thought out loud and crossed his arms over his chest. "She's aging every day now and I fear I'll run out of time before I even find a way to get her out of here." He looked over the edge of the cliff to see her on another ledge to the side and swinging her legs over the edge, her green eyes staring out at the land they now called home. She already looked about eighteen and Merlin was beginning to miss the days when she was a small girl who sought comfort in his embrace. Now she simply sat there with him, waiting out the sounds so she could get to sleep, no longer finding them scary.

"I'll find a way to get us out of here," he turned and smiled at the beast. "Just you watch."

**

* * *

The One-thousandth and Eleventh Day**

* * *

"You think this will work?" Morgana asked quietly as she leant against his side with her head on his shoulder. He gave a small nod from underneath his hood and stared at the fire, knowing that this was their last option. Merlin had tried everything he could think of to get out of this world. He'd spent the past five-hundred days attempting spells that should have done something and now he had only one idea left. "It could kill us."

"We've survived being here for almost three years, this is no different."

"Feels a lot longer than that," she whispered and he held her hand tightly in comfort. Morgana was right, for her it must feel like longer. She was already twenty-eight and was quickly catching up to being Merlin's age. The pace she was aging was beginning to effect her more these days and she slept through many nights without stirring, her body recovering from the process of aging so quickly. "Tell me the plan again."

"Those beasts are due to call out to that large one tonight. It happens every month and tonight will be no different. Like normal, it will seek us out and approach the cliff edge from below. What it won't expect is us to jump onto its back and fly it out of here."

"It might not know the way out of here."

"I'm betting it does. I'll cast my spell and control it, then we will be home. Think about it Morgana. No more hard floors. Horrible burnt food. Clean clothes and water. You won't fall asleep with the thought of the beasts watching over you. Everything will finally be okay." He pulled her to her feet and turned her to face him, pulling up her own hood of the cloak he'd made from part of his own. It had only required a spell to stretch the material and now she was hidden against the dark trees. "Remember, I can't hold you onto the beast and control it. You'll have to do that by yourself."

"I can do it Merlin. Lets go, it's almost time."

They hurried out to the cliff edge and covered their ears as the crying began, the large beast appearing on queue. Merlin shot out his hand and made their fire burn brightly, attracting its gaze. Silence fell over the land as it took to the skies and towards the fire, it didn't even notice the two dark figures crouched on the edge. His hand held tightly onto Morgana's as they waited, the indication to jump was when he squeezed her hand and then she'd be on her own. His main priority was controlling the beast quickly enough that it didn't throw them off.

When it was close enough, Merlin tightened his grip and released Morgana's hand as he jumped. His body free fell through the air at such a speed that he thought he'd timed it wrong for them both to make it, however when he yelled his spell to soften the blow of landing, he was grateful to find Morgana sitting behind him and her arms wound around his waist as he pressed his hands against the beasts neck.

"_Ealdordómlicnes_!"

The beast roared as the spell took hold and Merlin's eyes turned gold as he saw what the dragon did. Unlike his own sight, the dragon saw a hole in the distance that broke through the sky and Merlin knew that through that hole, was home. Commanding it forward forcefully, Morgana tightened her grip as the wings began to beat against the air and they quickly flew towards their destination.

Merlin felt hope fill him as they hovered along side the hole and he knew Morgana must be confused. She did not see what he did. Not without access to the beasts sight. "Morgana," he yelled over the rushing wind and she squeezed his waist to let him know she'd heard. "You're going to have to jump!"

"What?" Came a loud response.

"Where I'm looking is what I believe to be a portal like the one we came in. If you go through there, you'll end up back in our world. I know you can't see it, but you're going to have to trust that it's there." It took a lot of power to keep the beast still as he turned and he met Morgana's eyes, her own looking at the beast's eyes through Merlin. "It's literally just there," he pointed and his hand made the air around them shimmer. "Trust me Morgana. Please."

Her hand moved from his waist and rested against his cheek, "I've trusted you from the moment we got here. You have to come too. If I'm going home, you are too."

"I wasn't going to suggest otherwise," he smiled and somehow they both managed to get to their feet. Merlin took a deep breath and stared at the dark hole, the thought of going home bringing him such joy that nothing could take the smile off his face. "On the count of three. One. Two-"

"Three!" Morgana yelled and jumped forward. Merlin did the same a second later and his spell broke off with the beast the moment he no longer was in contact with it. His hands stretched out as he began to pass through the portal and Morgana looked back at him with a grin on her face. At least until horror filled her eyes and she went pale. "MERLIN!"

He didn't have time to react. One moment he was going home and then the beast had caught his cloak between two teeth and was pulling him back. Merlin watched as Morgana vanished from sight and his body fell through the air, his cloak in the beasts mouth as it flew where he'd been seconds before. As the ground rushed up to meet him, all he could do was close his eyes and accept his fate.

Merlin was tired of fighting and if this was his fate, so be it.

* * *

Arthur raised his glass and smiled at the people surrounding him, "I thank you all for being here with me and I hope there are many occasions to come when we can do this again. Please enjoy your dinner and let the feast begin." Everyone raised their glasses and then sipped their drinks as Arthur looked out at them all. Everyone was happy. Everyone was peaceful.

Just as he was about to sit down, a loud rumbling filled the room and the ground began to shake. Arthur's Knights rose to their feet and unsheathed their swords, all looking for the source of the noise. It was only when a large hole appeared in the middle of the hall that everything went silent and Arthur watched in amazement as a body flew out of it.

The person skidded across the ground with their arms up around their head for protection and the hole closed up, leaving nothing but a person to explain the strange occurrence. All held their breath as the person pushed themselves up and their delicate hand pulled back the hood of the cloak they wore. Arthur wasn't the first to notice it was a woman.

"Who are you?" Arthur said loudly in demand. She lifted her head and her long black hair fell away from her face, revealing two green eyes that he could never forget. "Morgana."

**

* * *

People asked for a chapter about what happened down in the other world. I went a little overboard. I wasn't planning to write so much.**

**Anyway, once again I've left you wondering if Merlin's dead or not. I really need to get out of that habit.**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and only one more remains.**

**Please review and I'll get the last chapter up in the next couple of days if you do ;)**


	28. Having A Home

**Having A Home**

* * *

Arthur stared at the closed door blocking his way and found he couldn't reach forward to push it open. On the other side was Morgana, who after a good night's rest, was probably ready to talk. After her arrival at the feast, she had quickly passed out and it hadn't taken long for everyone to spring into action. She had been carried to bed within moments and had been there ever since. He hadn't even had the chance to ask how she had aged so quickly, let alone a question that had been haunting him for almost three years.

_Is Merlin okay?_

"She's not going to bite," Gwen side from behind him and he turned his head a little to acknowledge her. She often appeared out of nowhere and he'd grown used to it, especially since her husband was now one of his Knights and it meant she was around the castle a lot more. "I bet she's eager to see you Arthur. Who knows what she's been through, she could have been alone all this time and a friendly face might help her. I'll be right out here if you need me."

"What if she doesn't remember me? She looks almost my age, that's a long time and she could have forgotten me."

"As if anyone could forget you," she brushed past him and gently placed her hand on the handle. "Just be patient. She might not be ready to talk about what happened yet." Arthur didn't have time to respond since Gwen opened the door a moment later and he instinctively stepped through, his eyes seeking out Morgana. He spotted her out on the balcony, standing there quietly as she stared out at Camelot, the clothes she had been wearing upon arrival still on.

"Morgana," he spoke up and her entire body tensed as he approached her. "There are plenty of clothes in the closet. I can get one of the maids to help you clean yourself and change, you don't have to-" he went to comfortingly touch her shoulder but she shrank away, taking a step back to avoid his touch "-stay in those clothes. Especially that cloak, it's basically ruined."

The arms crossed over her chest tightened as she clutched the material between her fingers, clearly having no intention of taking it off. How could something so … horrible, have so much meaning to her? "Why don't we go inside? I'll get you something to eat and drink, I bet your hungry."

"How long has it been since we left?" She asked and Arthur hesitated a moment as he heard how much her voice had changed. No longer was he facing a little girl. This was a woman who had experienced such things that no one should endure.

"Almost three years. By the looks of it, it's been a lot longer for you." Morgana didn't respond and instead walked back into the room, her eyes glancing at the four walls that surrounded her. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Camelot is safe. Nothing can hurt you in here." He watched as she walked over to the unmade bed she'd been put in last night and her hand gently brushed against the quilt, her green eyes taking in every detail. "How are you?" A simple glance was all it took to give him an answer, "You're right. Stupid question."

Running his hand through his hair nervously, he tried to think of something to say when Morgana decided to speak up. "Something to eat would be nice actually."

"Great! I'll go get you something. Stay right there."

* * *

"It's not like I'm going anywhere," Morgana muttered as Arthur shut the door and she sat down on the edge of the bed. She couldn't believe she was actually back in Camelot. For some reason, when she'd looked up to see Arthur stood behind a table upon her arrival, she had thought him a mirage. Something she'd made up to make herself feel better when she discovered the portal hadn't worked. However when she'd woken up in bed, she was convinced she was back.

Reaching inside her cloak, she pulled out the small dragon she never lost and placed it on the palm of her hand. "_Onbryrdan_." It was a spell Merlin had often said when she was upset and the spell had made the tiny dragon come to life, she had quickly learned how to do such a spell, however she enjoyed seeing Merlin attempt to cheer her up. Now she often turned to the small dragon whenever she felt lonely. It was strange, she felt more lonely here then she did back in the other world with Merlin.

"He's okay, I know he is." Morgana whispered and the dragon blinked up at her innocently, two blue eyes now replacing stone so it gave it some life. She always was reminded of Merlin when it looked at her. The two eyes held such wisdom but also hidden innocence she wished she could have helped Merlin express. "I think he's just going to have to wait for another month to pass and use that beast again to get free, that's all. He'll be here in thirty days."

"Morgana, everything okay?" Gwen poked her head through the door after hearing Morgana talk to what she thought was an empty room. Morgana smiled and nodded, undoing the spell upon her dragon so she could hide it away. No one would see her treasure. Not unless they pried it from her dead corpse.

* * *

**3o Days Later**

* * *

Standing in the large hall, Morgana stared at the spot she'd been told the hole first appeared and waited. A month had passed since her arrival and she knew that tonight would be the night Merlin returned. He had too. She was tired of answering everybody's questions about where she'd been. Surprisingly, Arthur hadn't asked that many himself. A few days after she got back, he'd slipped the question 'was Merlin okay' into the conversation and when she had replied with 'he was fine', nothing more had been said on the matter.

Most people asked how she survived, lived and gotten through the long nights in that beastly world. All she could respond with was that she couldn't have done it without Merlin. Next had come the questions about how she had aged. That was something she couldn't answer. Not even Merlin had been able to figure it out and she hadn't aged further since coming back to Camelot. She was back to normal. As normal as she could be after everything anyway.

"Morgana, you've been waiting almost all day and night. Why don't you take a rest?" Gwen asked and Morgana shook her head, her eyes never leaving the spot on the floor. "I'll watch for you. I promise you that if Merlin comes back, I'll let you know."

It was only when Gwen came over that she realised just how tired she was. Sleeping in a bed was hard to get used too after all this time and she was only getting a few hours of sleep every night, it was beginning to take its toll on her. "You promise to come wake me? Swear to me."

"I promise. The moment he turns up."

She gave a small smile and slowly walked from the hall, her footsteps wobbling from side to side as her body began to let her know just how tired she was. "Are you alright?" A deep voice broke the silence of the castle and she looked up the stairs nearby to see Gwaine stood there. She had seen him wondering about the castle since she got back but never had they had a moment to talk. Then again, why would they? She'd barely known him before she left.

"I'm fine. Just a litt-" she faltered as dizziness overtook her and an arm came around her waist to hold her up. Morgana pressed her hand against Gwaine's chest as she straightened up and she gazed into his brown eyes as he smiled at her. "Thank you, I must be more tired then I thought."

"I'll walk you back then, can't leave a helpless maiden like yourself to stagger back to her room alone."

"I'm hardly helpless," Morgana replied firmly and the two of them walked up the stairs. Neither knowing that they'd just set in motion their destiny.

* * *

**2 Years Later**

* * *

"Congratulations Morgana, I'm so happy for you." Arthur brought Morgana into a tight embrace and then took Gwaine's hand in a firm handshake, "You better take good care of her."

"She takes care of me more often then not," Gwaine replied and wrapped his arm around his new wife's waist. The ceremony had just ended and now they were gathering to congratulate the couple, Arthur being King, got to go first. "However I must steal her away for a dance before anyone else catches us alone." He grinned at Arthur before dragging Morgana into the middle of the courtyard where many couples were dancing together.

Arthur took a seat at a nearby table and watched them as they smiled at one another, each knowing they'd found the one person who could make them happy. He on the other hand was still alone. Slowly people were beginning to forget about Merlin and it was only the sorcerer's who were reminded of him everyday that they saw Morgana smiling. She was smiling because of him.

In the first year, all of them had gone every month, to the hall, to see if Merlin returned home. However as the months dragged on and people got on with their lives, the time of the month was forgotten. Only himself, Morgana, Gwen, Gwaine and Lancelot went now. Even then, sometimes Arthur found himself alone with Morgana on the night.

He wondered if he was even alive. After Morgana had described the place, on how they'd always been on guard and there was never a moments peace, he was surprised they lasted the first few years. At least then they'd had each other. Right now, if Merlin was alive, he was alone.

"Sire," Gwen said from beside him and he broke away from his thoughts. "Care to dance?"

"I'd love too." Taking her hand, Arthur got to his feet and was lead out amongst the people. Pulling one of his closest friends into his arms, he twirled them around and smiled down at her.

"What were you thinking about, just now?" Gwen asked and when she got a questioning look in return, she carried on. "You looked so sad and confused. Like in front of you wasn't a wedding, but a funeral. Are you thinking about Merlin again?"

"Is it wrong that I wish Morgana was still there with him? At least then he'd have someone to keep him company. He's spent so much of his life alone, I fear any longer and it will drive him insane."

"If anyone can survive that place, it's him. He'll come back to you when the time is right." She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, "Until then you'll have to grin and bear it. If Morgana suspects anything, she'll feel guilty about marrying Gwaine and moving on with her life. She still has nightmares about that place."

Arthur remained silent and rested his cheek against the back of her head, a small sigh leaving his lips as he watched the happy couple dance. Gwen was right, he couldn't let on about what he was thinking, it wasn't far on Morgana. So he danced and smiled, pretending that he wasn't screaming inside with the fact that he missed Merlin more then anything.

It was a few hours later when people were beginning to leave when Arthur first felt like something was wrong. It was an hour during the day when the sun was at it brightest and yet darkness covered them suddenly, the clouds turning colours he didn't think were possible and the air becoming colder then ever. Just as he was about to tell people to go home, a large hole opened up in the air and Arthur felt his heart leap from his chest. He recognised that hole.

"Merlin!" Morgana was already yelling from behind him and she passed his side, her eyes up at the hole as it expanded. "He's come home! MERLIN! MERLIN!" She kept yelling and it was only when the ground began to shake that Arthur touched his sword, this wasn't right. The last time the hole had appeared, the ground had shaken before it appeared, not after. Which meant whatever was coming through it, wasn't a small person.

"Run!" Arthur yelled and everyone ran towards the side doors of the castle as a large beast broke through the surface of the hole, the beast's body crashing onto the ground in the middle of the courtyard where the events after the wedding had been held. Arthur hid behind some barrels in a lame attempt to hide and he peered through the small gap between them to see that the beast didn't move. Grey smoke left the unmoving body and it didn't even look like it was breathing.

Morgana was first to appear from her hiding place and she went forward confidently, the first familiar thing in years now before her. Arthur was quick to join her and they were both approaching the beast slowly, his knights following with their swords drawn. "What is it?" Arthur asked.

"That's the beast that got me home …" Morgana replied quietly and she fell to her knees as they all realised it was dead since it wasn't attacking them. "This was the only way back. He's … stuck there." A sob escaped her lips and Gwaine was soon by her side, holding her in his arms as she wept for the first time since she got back. Arthur didn't know what he felt right then. On some level he knew that Merlin would never come back, that when he'd gone to get Morgana, he hadn't intended to come out of it alive. However he'd somehow managed to convince himself that there was a chance he might make it. That one day he'd turn up with that goofy smile and say he survived because he wanted to see Arthur again. Now Morgana said there wasn't another way to get back … he just felt numb.

"What's that?" Gwen asked and everyone turned to see her pointing towards a small blue flower on the ground. Morgana looked last and then a small gasp left her lips, quickly followed with her crawling across the ground in her wedding dress to pick it up.

"I gave …" her green eyes looked at something out of sight because of the wing belonging to the beast and suddenly she was attempting to push the wing up. "Help me! NOW!" Men sprung into action at her orders and after a few pushes, they managed to get the wing away enough to reveal a large claw. One that had a opened human hand stuck out of it where the flower had been held. "Merlin!"

Arthur didn't hesitate in helping her pry the claws open and as they opened the last one, he felt his entire world come crashing down. It was Merlin. He didn't wear the cloak he used too, there was so much dirt covering him that you could barely make out his pale skin, the clothes he wore were in ruins and he looked dead. However Arthur already was bending down over him and cupping his face, staring down at him in amazement. He couldn't decide whether Merlin looked older or younger then he remembered, after so long, the image of him was beginning to fade a little every day.

"Merlin, wake up." Arthur pleaded and Morgana grasped Merlin's open hand in her own. "Don't make me order you to wake up. You made it home. Morgana's safe. Everyone's here." He dreaded to think he'd have to wait a long time for Merlin to wake up or to discover him dead, however two large blue eyes suddenly stared up at him in wonder. "Hey there," Arthur said softly.

Merlin blinked a few times and then relief seemed to wash over him, "You got old."

"I did not! How dare you say-"

"I'm kidding," a raspy voice said in return and then a cough followed. Merlin rolled onto his side as he coughed and then pushed himself up, his arms shaking in fatigue. "Can I-" he started but was interrupted when Arthur pressed a kiss to his lips forcefully and the sorcerer pressed against his chest with his hand to make them break apart. "What are you doing? There are people looking." There was a faint blush on the warlock's cheeks.

"I don't care. If they have a problem with it, I'll execute them. I can do that now," Arthur pulled Merlin to his feet and brushed the hair from his face. "Lets get you inside and cleaned up, you have a lot of explaining to do." He turned and looked at a couple of the knights, "Can you find some servants to draw Merlin a bath? Thank you."

Except when he turned around, Merlin wasn't stood there smiling at him, he was passed out cold on the ground.

* * *

_Merlin opened his eyes slowly to find himself in dark cave where there was only the light coming from the entrance to let him know where he was. Every bone in his body ached and there was a high pitched ringing in his ear for some reason._

_"You shouldn't move," came a dark low voice and he turned his head to the side to see the beast, who regularly stalked him, sitting on the ground nearby. "Your body is still recovering. Unless you wish to undo all the healing I've done, remain where you are."_

_"You can talk," was the first thing that came to mind and was said._

_"Yes. I studied you over the years and began to pick up on your language. Thought it might come in handy one day. Tell me, why did you not use your magic to soften your landing? You could have died."_

_"Why aren't I dead?"_

_"I saved you. I caught you on my back as I leapt into the air and brought you here to heal you. You broke a lot of your bones I'm afraid, you won't be able to move for quite some time."_

_"How did you heal me?"_

_"I have a few tricks of my own warlock, now rest. You have a long journey ahead of you."_

* * *

"_You_ should be in bed," Arthur said as he walked out onto the balcony and wrapped his arms around Merlin's waist from behind. "The physician said that your body needs to rest after everything you went through and he's always right. Now come back to bed."

"I feel so confined in there," Merlin admitted and leant back into the warm body heat that he had greatly missed. "After almost five years of being over there … sleeping inside feels so unnatural. I fear that I'll have nowhere to run if something attacks."

"Nothing is going to attack you. Well, nothing except me." He was pulled by the waist backwards and soon found himself back in the soft bed which he feared he'd never get used too. Arthur got into bed the other side of him and smiled like a fool, apparently the King was happy to have him back. Whilst he had been away, Arthur had even managed to get Merlin's bed taken to Camelot and put in his chambers. Supposedly it was a lot comfier then his own.

"You don't have to stay here with me. I'm sure you have many Kingly things you should be doing. I don't need a babysitter," Merlin pointed out and turned on his side. "Although I'm not minding all the attention."

"My jobs can wait until after you're feeling better. I've finally got you back, I'm not wasting a single moment doing meaningless jobs when I could be here with you." Arthur turned onto his own side and gently traced the faint scar down Merlin's face. "What took you so long to get back?"

"It seems that the beast picked up quickly what I was trying to do and quickly began to avoid me every month when it appeared. It took me a long time to track it down, let alone find a way to get on its back and up to the portal."

"How did it die?"

"I don't think it was meant to come through the portal but when it saw me going, it tried to grab me again. Last thing I remember is those claws wrapping around me as we went through. Then I woke up to see you." Merlin smiled and shuffled over so their faces were mere inches apart. "I missed you," he quietly admitted after a few minutes of silence and he watched the King smugly grin.

"I should think so. I'm a missable person," he teased and Merlin frowned. Hadn't Arthur missed him? Rolling over, he stared ahead of him and clutched the quilt in his hands. "_Mer_lin, I didn't mean to make you upset. Look at me." When he didn't, Arthur pulled him onto his back with a firm hand and moved so he was hovering over him. "I missed you too."

His head dipped down a moment later and their lips met in a tender kiss, neither wanting to rush anything. After all, they had all the time in the world. As they broke apart, Merlin sighed in content and sank into his pillow, his eyes never leaving Arthur's. "Stay here with me," Arthur told him and Merlin looked away a little. "I know you'll probably want to go back to your village of sorcerers and what not, but I want you here. With me."

"But the people-"

"Have known for a very long time that I'm in love with you," Arthur admitted and Merlin tensed. "I'm not afraid of my feelings for you anymore, Merlin. You are who I want by my side as I rule over this Kingdom."

"You could have anyone you want though."

"I made my choice a very long time ago. I choose you."

* * *

**The End**

**

* * *

*sobs in corner***

**It's over! I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter and it was everything you wanted. I know people who hate slash stories probably hated it, but oh well! I warned you it would go that way.**

**Anyway, I have enjoyed writing this SO much. A HUGE SHOUT OUT to Acheron Blake who gave me the idea for the beginning of this story. I would have never thought of it myself.**

**THANK YOU to all you reviewers, people who favourite and put this on story alert. Every email I got is treasured.**

**Please review if you haven't had a chance yet =] I like to know if people enjoyed the ending and the entire story. It will only take a few minutes of your time. If I can, I plan to respond to every review I get for the last chapter.**

**Thanks for reading! xxxx**


	29. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

Looking around at his now empty house, it was hard to believe that this was where his life had ended up. When he had been younger, everything had seemed dark and pointless. The only reason he carried on was that he wanted to help people who couldn't protect themselves, just like he had needed when his mother had been killed. Now he was packing up his belongings so he could move them to Camelot. He finally would have a place to call home.

"So you're really going then?" Morgana asked from where she stood and Merlin looked over his shoulder at her.

"Looks like it." Flicking his hand, Merlin made his final trunk open and his books began to fly in. "They don't need me to stay here. After almost six years, they've learnt how to look after themselves and if anything happens, I can always come back."

"And being in Camelot will make you happy? You've been through a lot Merlin. It's only been a few weeks since you got back and I don't want Arthur taking advantage of that. If you need rest, here is the best place to have it. He is King and that means-"

"He'll be busy a lot," Merlin interrupted her and smiled. "I know what I'm getting myself into Morgana. Believe it or not, I got to think a lot about what I wanted when I was away and all I imagined was being happy, with him. I've spent so long running away from my feelings that I've forgotten why people take the risk of falling in love. It's because you feel … on top of the world."

"But Merlin, he might hurt you. Arthur is one of my most trusted friends but even I can't ignore his reputation. Once he has someone, he gets bored and gets rid of them within the month. What if that happens to you?"

"Then at least I would have had some time with him." Turning on the spot, he walked over to her and gently grasped her shoulders. "He makes me happy Morgana, something I haven't been in a long time. Isn't that enough to give this a shot?"

"But-"

"But nothing. Thank you for worrying about me but I can look after myself," gently brushing her locks behind her ear, he smiled.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you. We've been through a lot together and the thought of anyone hurting you, after … that place. It wouldn't be fair." Morgana placed her hand over his heart and a small soft smile came to her lips, "You've been like a Father to me Merlin. If that guy hurts you, King or not, I'll hunt him down and kill him."

"Sweet," Merlin tapped her nose and then grasped her hand tightly. "Same goes for you. If Gwaine ever hurts you, let me know. I know some terrible curses that would make any man cry."

"Morgana! It's time to go." Gwaine yelled from downstairs and Morgana took a step away from Merlin.

"I'll see you back in Camelot," she said and quickly rushed down the stairs to greet her husband. Merlin laughed as he heard Gwaine complain that they might not make it back before sundown because of Morgana fussing and he was glad she had found someone to be with. Now it was his turn to have that. Finally.

* * *

Arthur woke up as he heard movement coming from the room next door and he got out of bed to go investigate. Picking up his sword, he crept alone the stone covered floor silently in his bare feet and after going down the hall, he pushed open the door with his shoulder so he could peer into the room. Instead of finding a thief, he found Merlin stood there with many of his belongings floating in the air around him, slipping into places when he flicked his hand at certain points.

Setting his sword on the table by the door, Arthur shut the door behind him quietly and took a step forward. "I thought you weren't coming here until tomorrow?" Arthur asked and Merlin's lips curled into a smile.

"I couldn't wait. Everything was packed and my bed was here, it made more sense to come here tonight rather then in the morning."

"Why are you unpacking in here then?" Arthur asked and ducked under some clothes as they flew over his head as he approached Merlin. "You are an idiot if you think we're sleeping in separate rooms. I've had to wait six years, I'm not wasting any time in taking it slow. Pack all this back up and move it into our chambers, Merlin."

Merlin dropped his hands to his side and his things went back into the trunks that hadn't been sorted yet, he then turned to face Arthur who was now a mere step away. "I was going to unpack my things in there. That was before I realised just how much stuff you own. There was nowhere to put all this. Besides, I like the idea of having a room filled with all my stuff. Means I can come in here to be myself-"

"You can't be yourself with me?" The King asked.

"I don't mean it like that," Merlin replied and took ahold of one of Arthur's hands. "I mean I can come in here and read up on spells, practice my magic and not have to worry about hurting anyone. If I did it in your chambers, then I might hurt you."

"Our chambers, and if that's what you want, fine. However all your clothes and little treasures that you had around your bedroom back in that village go in the other room. I want you to feel like it's home and not just a place you're sleeping in." Arthur tugged at his and pulled him up against his body, the warlock's cloak flowing out behind him from the sudden movement. "Not just sleeping either."

"You've become horny in your old age," Merlin teased.

"No, just deprived. You'd think being King meant I could have what I wanted, but no, you had to go and get trapped in another world. Talk about selfish," Arthur replied quietly and fiddled with the strings holding the cloak around Merlin's neck.

"However will I make it up to you?"

"I can think of one way," the King muttered and they both closed the small distance between their lips. Arthur had already managed to untie the string that he'd been fiddling with and the cloak fell around their feet, neither really paying attention to it. Merlin on the other hand didn't make any movement to remove any of Arthur's clothing and that was enough to make the King hesitate. "Don't you-"

"Unlike you, I'm not restricted to just using my hands." Merlin whispered against his lips and suddenly a cold breeze hit his bare skin. Looking down, he found that he was already half undressed and Merlin hadn't moved his hands from his waist. It seemed there were other uses to Merlin's magic then just saving people. "I think it's about time we moved into our chambers and get into our bed."

"I couldn't agree with you more." Arthur pressed a light kiss to Merlin's lips and then turned to leave the room, except a firm hold on his hand stopped him. Turning his head, a small wave of dizziness overcame him and he suddenly saw that they had somehow managed to change rooms without so much as moving. "Neat trick."

"Oh you won't believe what else I can do," Merlin teased and pushed him back onto the bed so he wouldn't fall down. "There's a reason why sorcerer's are rumored to be fantastic in bed," he commented as he climbed onto the bed to straddle Arthur's waist, "and I'm about to show you why."

* * *

Merlin gently traced Arthur's lips with his finger as he lay on top of him, his eyes in a trance as his thoughts took him back to his time away, how night after night he had imagined being exactly like this. He didn't dare close his eyes incase it was all a dream. "You look sad," Arthur commented and brushed the hair from his face.

"I'm not sad," he replied and gave a small smile in return. "Just … I keep expecting to open my eyes and find myself back in that place. Without you. What if I'm still there Arthur? What if you're just a figment of my imagination and I've become so weak, that I'm just making this all up to make myself feel better. The amount of times I imagined you by my side was uncountable, this could just be another time."

"It's not. You're here, with me, in our bed. We've just had amazing sex and have many more nights to come like this. You'll never wake up alone again. I promise," Arthur lifted his head from his pillow and tenderly kissed his lips. Suddenly he reached sideways and opened up his drawer, however his arm wasn't flexible enough to reach inside with Merlin on top of him. "Do you mind getting me a small box that's in there?"

With a curious look on his face, Merlin summoned the box with a mere thought and Arthur grasped it in his outstretched hand. Something was going on here and Merlin didn't like being clueless. "What's that?" Merlin asked without hesitation.

"It's a gift, for you." He opened the box whilst it faced him and pried something from the cushion. Arthur then chucked the box onto the floor and held up a gold ring that was shaped like a dragon. One end was the dragons head and it looked like it was eating its own tail by the way it was designed. Two small red gems were where the eyes should be and Merlin stared at it in fascination. He'd never seen anything more beautiful in his entire life. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? Arthur, I love it. What's this for though? I haven't got anything to give you in return."

"I have everything I want right here," the arm around Merlin's waist tightened and the warlock smiled happily. "This is a welcome home present. I want the whole of Camelot to know you're mine and I want you to have a constant reminder that you have someone who cares about you. Loves you." Arthur unwrapped his arm from around him and grasped his hand, pulling it up between them so he could slip the finger onto one of his fingers. "There. Now it's official."

"You didn't have to do this …" Merlin said as he stared at the ring.

"No, I didn't, but I wanted too." Merlin's hand was wrapped in Arthur's strong one and brought to the King's lips. "If you really want to make it up to me, you can show me what else you can do with that magic of yours. I have a feeling the best is yet to come."

* * *

**A few people said they wanted an epilogue and so wala, here you go. I don't expect any reviews for this since the last chapter was for that. So just enjoy this chapter and bask in the glow of our two boys finally being together.**

**If anyone wants to help me with story ideas, message me ;) I have a couple of ideas but I don't think anyone would like them.**

**Thanks again for reading and for all the reviews. It's been great hearing your views! sorry for the double upload, forgot to edit chapter before uploading first time**


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